


The Creepy Case of Old Iron Face

by earthkidsareweird



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King, Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Adult Losers Club (IT), Alternate Universe - IT (King) Fusion, Asexual Mike Hanlon, Beverly Marsh & Richie Tozier Are Best Friends, Bisexual Eddie Kaspbrak, Eddie Kaspbrak Lives, Eleven | Jane Hopper is a Byers, Fluff and Angst, Friday The Thirteenth, Gay Richie Tozier, Gay Will Byers, M/M, Movie: IT Chapter Two (2019), Mutual Pining, Pet Semetary, Reddie, Richie Tozier Has Powers, Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Little Shit, Ryler, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Stanley Uris is a Good Friend, The Dark Phoenix Saga, Will Byers Has Powers, Will Byers loves Richie Tozier, demodog - Freeform, why not both?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-01-22 15:02:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 40
Words: 63,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21304019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/earthkidsareweird/pseuds/earthkidsareweird
Summary: Richie hangs his legs over the side of his chair, they’re opposite to Eddie. “Thanks for joining me.”“Oh there’s been a misunderstanding.”It takes a lot for Richie to lean back enough while resting against Eddie. “Misunderstanding? What’s that supposed to mean?”“I’m here for Will. We got married earlier.”“You got married?”“Yeah, it just seemed really awkward to tell you, but yeah, we got married. Your mom even walked me down the aisle.”“What? No ! Stop! There’s no way.”Eddie puts his coffee to the side leaning back, his feet all stretched out while Richie continues to lean into him. The two are tucked away in a hospital corner. “That music thing you do with Will, seems cool. Could you do that for me? Like play some song in my head.”It’s so quiet in the room. The two are there in their continued silence listening to whatever song Richie chooses to somewhat silence his erratic thoughts.Only a split second later, Eddie is wide awake stuck on each individual word,Walking back to you, it’s the hardest thing that I can do.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Will Byers/Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier, Will Byers/Richie Tozier
Comments: 48
Kudos: 55





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is all new to me and I'm panicking so like let me know? Or don't. It's cool. Thanks for hanging out with me and all my fav characters in settings and shit that I love. Pls send help.
> 
> P.S. I'm sorry that it's like taking me foooooorever to get to the point, I'm so bad at this.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everybody is about to have a bummer temporary end.

### 1 Year Ago

When someone with the nickname like “Trashmouth” is sure being quiet, there’s a huge fucking problem. It doesn’t take an expert to know shit is about to get real as Richie Tozier enters the hospital room sort of just mumbling to everyone, “I think we need a moment in. . .alone.” 

He even got back right around the time Stan arrived after being released from a hospital back from wherever he came from for the past 27 years. Ben, Bev, Mike, and Stan all look at one another. They had been sitting in the same hospital room for hours by that point with Richie MIA for the last few hours. It got to the point where Mike was sure he skipped town again, never to look back at Derry, not that there is much of a Derry left. The terror that lived inside of it was dead leaving a dying city behind. In the near future, Derry was about to become a ghost town with most of its occupants leaving, either in a coffin or with better opportunities outside city limits.

They’re a loud lot, the Losers Club, not necessarily friends from beginning to end, but they were at a crossroads to change that. Still, Bev, Mike, and Stan make an exit leaving Richie to Eddie even though Eddie is all asleep. Unconscious is one damn good word to explain his state of being. Machines are all busy beeping away in their. In all the times Eddie shouted about not doing something because his mom would admit him to a hospital and all.

Richie stands there with the door closed behind him. Only Bev lingers for a hot sec looking through the window almost pressing her nose against the glass. Her breath hits the glass, it steams up for all of another second and she’s gone. Still too quiet for a loud person, Richie sinks into a seat beside Eddie with a sigh. He has those annoying machines making all their sounds. Well, they weren’t _that_ annoying seeing without them Eddie would be dead and gone, just like Bill Denborough. Richie keeps his eyes open unsure if he’ll see Bill all dead in the shit or Eddie close to death.

“Hrrrmmm. . .” Eddie moves a bit, he moves enough to see Richie there not really able to make words in the moment.

“Heya Eds.” Richie leans forward squeezing his cheek.

“What the fuck? I’m dying.”

“You were dying, but look at you now, not dead yet.” Richie releases his cheek and sits there. Sure sounds like he’s reading off some bad cue cards for _Saturday Night Live_.

Eddie glares at him. His eyes all squinty full of annoyance. “Don’t call me Eds.”

Richie nods, which if Eddie could, he would’ve sat up because again the trashmouth sure is quiet. “Look, there’s something. . .I need to talk to you about. . .”

The two are to quiet for too long. For a second, Richie glances over his shoulder to see Ben there instead of Bev. He stares into the room, his nose not pressed into the glass. Richie returns his focus to Eddie who is still all squints.

“Is this because I fucked your mother? Because. . .I lied.”

“Yeah, I know. She’s been dead.”

“I didn’t say when.”

That gets him. Richie looks down at his feet, chuckling. The hard part is going to finding the next words because there are way more jokes than not. Right when Richie is about to speak up, somebody else does. “EEEEEEDDIE!” a ghost screeches. Richie snaps his attention to Eddie who grimaces. First, It. Now this, a ghost has returned to haunt them. “EEEEEEDDIE!”

Somebody else joins the moment, “I’m so sorry sir, I couldn’t get her to stop.”

Richie looks over his shoulder to find Myra present. Not that he knows Myra, but Eddie does seeing his wife has come all this way. She bellows and screams as she barrells past the nurse to be next to Eddie.

“How could you do this, Eddie? After everything I’ve done for you?” she screams.

Richie gawks at her. Not a ghost. She might as well be a ghost. It’s like Eddie’s mom is standing in the room. Again the silence continues or really the growing silence between Richie and Eddie. Myra is talking nonstop while those machines are all busy beeping in the room, which is good because it means Eddie is still alive.

Already in the doorway, Richie stops and gives an awkward wave. Eddie sits in bed looking around Myra speaking up again, “Hold on a second!”

Richie tucks his hands into his jean pockets. His leather jacket all gone, full of Eddie’s blood. Richie shrugs. “Ah sorry, I can’t I um got a date with your mom, Eds.”

Then right as Richie is backing out of the door, Eddie yells after him, “Stop calling me Eds.”

Richie shakes his head.

“Yeah, well fuck you then.” But the door snaps shut and it’s hard to tell if Richie heard him. He’s still there looking through the little window at Eddie. Bev comes up behind him putting a hand on his shoulder whispering something to him and they disappear leaving Eddie behind to all the “EEEEEDDIES” from Myra and those beeping machines.

On the outside, Bev pulls away a bit and smiles at Richie. “What cat got your tongue?”

“That’s the stupidest comeback I have ever heard.”

“It’s not a comeback, you didn’t say anything first.” Bev moves back to sit with Ben on a bench. Stan and Mike are there. 

Stan is there all busy picking at the bandages around his wrists. He’s about as quiet as usual, it’s the only current comfort. There’s a lot of people around them, busy talking and living almost normal lives. About as normal as life can get upon a whole town collapsing.

Mike breaks the silence, “Has anyone heard from Audra?”

They all shake their heads half thinking of the red head woman who showed up almost too late. They dragged her out of the sewers, the entire time she screamed hoping to carry Bill out, but Bill was about as dead and gone as one could get. Murdered by some actual fucking clown, crushed by all those rocks. The structure brought down on him then most of the city fell after that.

“We should make some calls, shouldn’t we?” continues Mike.

“_Who_? I’m sorry but who the fuck are we going to call?” snaps Richie.

“Richie,” Ben whispers.

Mike looks down sighing deeply. “No, he has a point. All I had was Bill’s number.”

“So now what?” Bev blurts.

That sure is the question of the moment. Each loser looks at one another. Richie tucks his hands a little deeper into his pockets. Mike buries his face in his hands. Stan picks at his bandages while Ben carefully reaches out to hold Bev’s hand a little tighter. She looks at him. Their what’s next had to be the easiest out of the group, maybe.

“I really, really don’t know.” Mike looks up from his hands.

It’s the answer for each and everyone of them. A nurse walks over at them chewing on her lower lip. “I’m sorry, but a request went through for none of you being allowed to see Mr. Kasbrack.”

“You really gotta be fucking kidding me,” grumbles Richie in his exit. He hurries out there all crunched over without a single goodbye for the rest of the losers or Eddie, but at least they sort of already said bye to one another.

Ben is the next one to stand up helping Bev to her feet. There were a lot of conversation beginnings the two need to have. He looks at Mike and Stan. “Guess we’ll see you all again in 27 years.”

“That’s a real long time from now,” Stan says for the first time. “Why so long? I mean, we already just started to remember each other.”

“Sorry, Stan, it’s just. . .” Except she really didn’t have an answer to what she’s about to say. Bev instead smiles at him and says again, “. . .Sorry, Stan. . .” She backs away still holding onto Ben’s hand. Ben waves to Stan and Mike, all frowns. They’re gone, just like that. 

Mike and Stan are really all whose left. They look each other already counting Eddie gone, courtesy of Myra, which is maybe better than being actually dead.

“Um hi,” Stan says and waves at him.

Mike smiles.

“What’s next for you?” Stan ends up asking as the two exit the hospital together.

“Thinking I’ll leave Derry now that there isn’t much left.”

Whenever Stan smiles, it’s probably a lot sadder than he intends. Maybe because he’s too full of a sadness. “You’re welcome to come stay with me and Patty.”

They stop right outside the hospital building look at each other. Mike continues to smile at Stan, he puts a hand on his shoulder. “I will probably take you up on that.”

“Good. Do you have a car?”

Mike raises his eyebrow. “Yes, why?”

“Because I don’t have one and could use some help getting to the airport.”

“Perfect.” Mike ushers Stan away as the two make their way back to what’s left of Mike’s and the library ready to pack up Mike’s life. There’s a whole lot of chaos around them as people are cleaning out what they can and shoving it into cars while others are looting some places. Neither of them make eye contact with anybody else about to walk right on into a new life seeing they’ve had two old lives, both are gone, although one sort of made a return.


	2. Interludes 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We meet Mike, Stan, Patty, and Will Byers as Mike works on his podcast about collecting supernatural stories across the US. (Oh and they have a demodog with them, but we'll get more to that later with like also Richie Tozier and more). Shit is about to get real.

### Interludes with Your Host, Mike Hanlon

The problem with hotels is that they’re places full of superstition. Not sure if superstition is what attracts the supernatural or the supernatural that attracts the superstition. Doesn’t matter or at least, I don’t think it does. The fact at hand is, hotels tend to be haunted and I guess it’s about time we start to collect such stories. This is your host, Mike Hanlon with his faux Scooby-Gang.

Now before I get to the main story, my other anecdote I want to briefly talk about a hotel in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. One hotel with a history of violence then some unusual deaths up until the hotel’s boiler blew it all up one night. It’s a little unrelated, but just a thought we had of an example of another hotel haunted by its guests. It’s also a hotel Patty is obsessed with and insists we investigate. It sure is like like her to find the most terrifying stories full of gang violence and isolated fathers murdering their families. Haunted hotels didn’t come up again until we were about to pass through LA.

Hotels don’t let you know when you’re on the 13th floor, superstitions and all. What happens when you have a hotel with only 13 floors? Well, it’s labeled 1-12 with a final floor labeled as 14 before the roof.

I’m not one for a ghost story. Something about ghosts steers me the other way, and I’m going to blame Patty on this one because she insisted we go. Thanks Patty for any future trauma. When we entered city limits, we saw signs of a missing girl, which is all too familiar for kids from Derry. Stan looked as if he were about to puke whenever he saw one. At one point, I was sure he would jump out of the van, but he never did throw up. Good for you, Stan. Past memories are often more haunting than ghost stories.

Each sign told a brief story of an Elizabeth Ng who went missing about a month before our arrival. She was last seen at the Cecilia Hotel, a location that has been lost in its own supernatural lore and a location where many serial killers have entered in the past.

“You know sometimes people get murdered by other humans,” I told Patty when it first came up.

“Trust me, I have a feeling about this. We need to get to that hotel.”

It didn’t help that she was the one driving the van at the time so she decided we’re no longer passing through LA, but visiting some hotel, only we’d probably check into a less death filled hotel.

Patty added, “Didn’t you say your one rude friend lives in LA?”

Stan groaned. “Yeah, Richie.” If you knew our friend Richie, you’d understand this is a valid reaction. It includes an eye roll. Rude is an understatement. 

Anyhow, of course, the newest member of our faux Scooby Gang spoke up from the back, “Who?” Sometimes I still call him kid even though I have no idea if he’s older or younger than us just that his name is Will and he has a monster dog friend who I think we should refer to as Scooby-Doo. “Who are we gonna go see?” 

“Hotel ghosts and an old friend,” I replied.

“Wait, you guys have other friends? No way, that’s a lie.” Will as per usual laughed at his own joke, but nobody else did because it wasn’t funny.

_“Hey, take that back, Mike!”_

Upon arrival to the Cecilia Hotel, we learned of security footage we were allowed to view of Elizabeth Ng in the hotel’s elevator. It appears she is playing with someone, almost a game of hide-and-go-seek, but no one ever appears on camera. Yet she’s pressing all these buttons in the elevator, the doors don’t close, and she keeps looking out in the hallway before hiding in the elevator again. When she exits, it’s all we have of her. She exits on what is labeled the 14th floor, but as I mentioned earlier, is floor 13. It’s unlike anything I’ve seen before and I’ve seen a lot. I mean, just take a moment out of your day to Google Derry, Main to somewhat understand.

We have been unable to ask anymore questions, at this moment, which means you’ll have to join us again next Thursday for any follow up information. I have a bad feeling about this one.

Anyhow, it’s been real all. As always, I’m glad you could join our faux Scooby Gang as we travel across this country looking for what feels more like supernatural mischief at times than others. It’s more to collect stories and interviews of folklore and supernatural histories that are too often ignored. So thanks from me, Mike Hanlon, Patty and Stanley Uris, Will Byers and his. . .monster dog.

_“Dart 2.0 is his name.”_

_“If he’s 2.0 what happened to the first Dart?”_

_“I’d rather not talk about it.”_

_“Will! Patty! I’m trying to record my podcast here. All of this, everybody can hear it so please stop.”_

_“Now everybody can hear you say that.”_

_“Shut up, Stan.”_

This has been Interludes with Mike Hanlon and the Scooby Gang. And as always don’t go trip trapping over a bridge if there’s a troll underneath, that’s how you die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I still have no idea what I'm doing so I hope this works so just pls stay with me. This is a first fic for me. But also I wanted to incorporate the idea of the "interludes" from the book into this piece.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Richie "Trashmouth" Tozier. What an MFer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still very new to this and have no idea what's going on so any suggestions or tips are welcome.

### Present

Patty can’t really keep her eyes off Will while he’s sit two seats away from her. Both Stan and Mike left to pick up drinks for them. It takes a lot for Will to not look at her. He’s there examining the scrapes on his chucks, his hair is too long and a mess from sleeping in the back of the van. It’s all thanks to Patty they didn’t find a hotel. Or really, Stan and Mike’s fault because they insisted that all the hotels were haunted, as fuck.

“So where did you meet Dart 2.0?” Patty asks.

Will sighs and looks up at her. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“You say that a lot.”

Will shrugs. “It’s complicated.”

“Yeah. I gathered that.” Patty smiles hoping that’ll help.

“Drinks!” Stan interrupts the awkwardness as he returns handing a Martini to his wife before sitting down. He has a beer. So does Mike who hands one of the beers he’s holding to Will who takes it and looks at his feet. “How long till the set starts?” He puts his drink down on one of the tables in front of him one one of the round tables. “At least, there’s people here.”

“Remember when Richie flipped out at that kid who quoted his routine?” Mike begins to laugh. It’s as if crickets meet him. Stan doesn’t say it, but he basically does with his silence, _I wasn’t there_. “Sorry.” He looks at his phone. “At least, we don’t have long.”

Patty sits there sipping her drink while staring at the stage. “I thought you said you hated this kid.”

“You know, he’s an adult now,” Stan replies.

“I bet he’s still a kid. Like he will literally walk out on the stage as a small child.”

“No, he’s an adult. We saw him last year,” corrects Mike.

“You two saw him. Not me.”

Will looks up again with a small smile. “Why would you be friends with someone you call Richie _Asshole_ Tozier?”

“That’s-That’s not. . .” Mike starts to say. “Nevermind. You’re right.”

Stan chuckles.

Some people start to clap and they return their attention to the stage. For the first time, they all notice how close they are. Even the dust in the lights are pretty obvious.

For some reason, Patty blurts looking back at Will who is trying to enjoy his beer. “Hey, wait a second, where did you leave Dart 2.0?”

But there’s no answer because Richie Tozier walks onto the stage. He take a microphone waiting in the middle of the stage and starts by saying, “I’m Richie Trash. . .” But he sees Stan and Mike basically sitting right in front of him. There is a pretty long silence interrupting his set. Somebody even shouts: _You suck_! The silence ends as Richie continues to look at Stan and Mike shaking his head, “Ah FUCK! Not again!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie is a little shit with some big secrets as he meets with Stan and Mike again. Also, he's a little shit who misses Eddie but won't quite say it yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like maybe this is moving slow but nobody has sent help so far so I'm gonna assume it's just me here. All by myself. Pls send help though. 
> 
> (Also CW there are some very vague references to substance abuse here.)

“I knew it! I fucking knew you’d all be back! I don’t know how, but I fucking knew you losers would be back. . .” Richie pauses for a split second to take a look at Patty and Will. “. . .And then some. I mean, you sure don’t look like Beaverly and Haystack.”

“No, I’m Patty and this is Will.”

Richie stops and sits down at the bar. Most people are gone by this point in the night, it appears the bartender has fled the scene, as well. This has little meaning to Richie because he leans over it struggling to reach a bottle when someone returns. The bartender stops glaring at him and Richie falls back into his seat looking back at Patty.

“Yeah, I uh didn’t ask who you two were.” He signals for a drink from the bartender who cleans a glass about to half ignore him. But a drink soon appears close to Richie, just some whiskey. He starts to drink while looking at Mike and Stan all the while the bartender waits too close for comfort. “Hmmm. . .it’s on his tab.” He points at Stan who rolls his eyes although it’s Patty who hands a credit card to the bartender. “Wow, Stan, you look as sad as ever and Mike, you look like Mike.”

“I tell ya, Richie, I’d be worried if I looked like anybody else.” Mike looks at the ground unsure what to say next

Stan attempts a smile. It’s his typical one full of sadness. “What do you mean you knew we’d be back?”

Richie stops sipping his drink and gives him an odd look. He quickly pushes his glasses back into place. “Um what? Like you didn’t know?”

“Know what?” As soon as Stan says it, he regrets it expecting Richie to say something really idiotic like _chickenbutt_. But there’s no _chickenbutt_. Instead, the glass falls from Richie’s hand. Stan sighs looking at the broken shards. “I’m not paying for that.” He finds himself wishing Richie did yell _chickenbutt_ before roaring with laughter at his own asinine joke.

The all too quiet Trashmouth returns, which builds a strange sort of tension. Even Patty and Will sense it. All four of them are standing there staring at Richie while he looks off at really nothing trying to piece something together. An odd thought strikes Stan, about all the times he remembered in class that Richie was some smart kid, he just sure couldn’t act like it so he was always getting bad grades. Just a kid unable to keep his mouth shut.

“Hey so where is Bev and Ben. . .and Eddie?” asks Richie.

“Not here,” Stan and Mike accidentally reply in unison.

Mike takes the lead. “We were just passing through town and wanted to say hi.”

“Bill?”

“Richie. . .Bill is dead. . .” Mike adds it in such a whisper only for Richie to burst into laughter looking at them all one-by-one. “Beep, beep.”

“Too soon, I’m sorry.” He signals for another drink but the bartender shakes their head. “So what brings you losers to LA? My best guess is _not prostitutes_.”

Patty interrupts, “I’m sorry but what? Why would that even be your first best guess, not prostitutes?”

“Because he’s Richie Tozier and he says stupid shit.” It’s a little odd because Will is the one who says it.

Will and Richie lock eyes. “I’m sorry, but who are you again?” Richie asks pointing at him.

He points at himself as if he’s confused for a second to who Richie could possibly talking to in that moment. “Um Will Byers.”

“Cool. Fuck you.”

Again, Will points at himself mouthing _me_ before looking over at Stan and Mike who shrug.

Richie stands up fake stretching. “Alright, I gotta get out of here. It was great or something to see you all again, but I’m tired so I’m fucking out, going home.”

“We can give you a ride, we have a van,” Patty interrupts again.

Richie turns to face her and squeezes her cheek. “You are so precious.” He releases her cheek and starts to step away from them without letting anyone speak up about their LA destination. To be honest, he feels like he’s better off not hearing it from them because he does know. 

It’s a dream he’s had before, time and time again, although sometimes there’s a weird dog-like creature there with some flower head full of teeth. Usually the monster dog shows up in a more drug induced sleep. “I honestly hope we never meet again.”

“C’mon, Richie, we came all this way to see you. At least, let us give you a ride home.”

For some reason, Richie snorts at this. The idea of them casually visiting him under no unusual circumstances or anybody bothering to call him. Not them. Not Bev. Not Ben. Not Eddie, and there were plenty of times he called Eddie pretending to be a telemarketer unable to get any true words out. It was a good use of all his voices.

“But you didn’t, you came for something else. Whatever that may be.” Except Richie almost says it out loud, _Ceilia Hotel_ and he has no desire for them to learn where he lives, which is in fact, the Ceilia Hotel. It’s been a strange, strange life since he left Derry (a second time). No memory after the first time left a lot of room for freedom or so he thought. Loneliness was bad then, but it is now. He just has a concrete explanation for popping a Xanax or Ativan to cure said loneliness. It’s amazing what chemicals can do.

Mike takes the lead by catching up with Richie. “Don’t care. We’re taking you home. Where do you live?”

Richie groans looking up at the lights. Again he fixes his glasses, not that they really need to be fixed. Nervous twitches can be one hell of a reaction. “Yeah, you’re not gonna like it.”

“Try me.” Mike pulls out his keys ready to go while Patty closes out the tab. “So where to, Trashmouth?”

There’s one hell of a pause--again--from Richie. He pushes his glasses back into place while mainly focusing on Mike and Will. How did he even fucking know all of this was going to happen? No, wait. He knows how. He really does. It’s something Bev said, too, a long time ago. Well, a year ago, it seems more like a million years or 27 years seems to be the magic number for Losers Club reunions.

“Hey, I just wanna make it real clear, I fucking told you that you weren’t going to like it.” He backs away from them all especially as Patty and Will rejoin the group. He shakes his head while looking at them. Mike is getting super annoyed at this point but does his best to hide it or at least that’s possible until what Richie says next, “The Ceilia Hotel.”

It’s hard to say why but Mike finds himself on the ground. He opens his eyes not realizing he closed them and everybody is staring down at him. Stan holds the keys above his face and mutters some sort of weird bird joke, which makes no sense, but that’s Stan, he doesn’t have a sense of humor. Mike tries to make sense of what’s being said because it looks like Patty and Will are yelling at Richie who again is out of it, staring past them all as if they’re ghosts. It’s Mike turn to say it, “You have to be fucking kidding me.”

You’d think by now any of them would learn there’s no such thing as a coincidence.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie meets a demodog (and I think I just flat out suck at moving plots forward).

Maybe bringing Richie into the van will turn out to be a bad idea, it’s a little too early to tell. Nobody says anything about it, and at least again, he’s quiet. Only he’s quiet for different reasons while sitting in the middle of the van’s tiny aisle staring Dart 2.0 down. He slowly leans to one side as Dart 2.0 follows him. The demodog doesn’t even have eyes. Richie sits up straight before leaning the opposite direction letting Dart 2.0 do the same. 

“I’m sorry, but who is this?” Richie signals to Dart 2.0.

Will who is sitting next to him smiles. “Dart 2.0.”

“I’m sorry, but I should actually say _what_ is this?”

Will looks over his seat at Dart 2.0. “A demodog.”

Richie glares at Will. “Did you know you suck at explaining shit?”

“Well, it’s a lot harder to explain what a demodog is!” protests Will and he looks away from Richie. “I don’t even know what a demodog is.”

Still Richie is there staring straight at Dart 2.0 and his flower looking head. Again, Richie tilts his head to the side watching Dart 2.0 follow suit until Richie takes his glasses off allowing the monster dog become a blur instead. “Wow so fucking cool. You have a _you-have-no-idea_ in the back of your car.”

Dart 2.0’s face peels away as he growls at Richie who peeks through his glasses at the creature with all its teeth looking more like thorns but on petals, which is his mouth, which is so messed up.

“Yeah, I’m gonna um repress that.” Richie lets Dart 2.0 return to a blur.

Stan who is in the back while Mike helps Patty navigate their way to the Cecilia Hotel. He looks at Richie who is missing out on that sad, sad smile of his. “How’ve you been?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic. You, Stan?”

“Um, ok, I guess. We saw a black-necked stilt the other day.”

Richie puts his glasses on and looks up at Stan slapping him across the knee. “Stan the man?! Is that some kind of sex thing? And here I was thinking you were still a virgin.”

“What even is wrong with you?” Patty blurts from the driverseat.

“A lot. It’s all in my genes.”

“No, _Richie_, it’s a bird. We saw a bird. Why do you have to ruin everything?”

“Does Scooby-Doo over here eat black sex slits?” Richie asks while pointing at Dart over his shoulder.

“Beep, beep, Richie! You’re an ass and you know that’s not what I said and his name is Dart 2.0 not Scooby-Doo!” Stan groans looking away from him, he sits up a bit to get a look at the road signs around them. “It was a lot better without you around.”

“Woooooooow those are some pretty harsh words you just said there.”

Stan gawks at him at a loss for words because it’s true. Richie stares at Dart 2.0 again. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Oh, he did. Everybody knows it, too. “Do you know what happened to the girl?”

“What girl?” Richie reaches out just a tiny bit until the tips of his fingers touch Dart 2.0’s paws. He wrinkles his nose at the creature. “Fun fact, I’m not really into bringing girls back.”

“No, I’m not talking about some one night stand, I’m talking about _the_ girl who went missing. Do you know what happened to her?”

Richie leans his head back a little to get a good look at Stan. “No, _Stan_, if I knew what happened to her don’t you think I would’ve told the police? Or do you think I’m that much of an ass?”

Everybody except Stan laughs and they pull into a spot somewhat close to the Cecilia Hotel. Stan looks out the window rather than acknowledging them. He’s the first one out of the vehicle leaving them to follow, but Richie’s not done staring Dart 2.0.

“So like where’s he gonna stay?”

“How big is your room?” Will replies.

“Yeah, so they got a no pets policy. Sorry, Scoobs.”

“I’m pretty sure they have a no murder or kidnapping policy, but look what happened,” continues Will.

Richie bursts into laughter looking back at Will rather than Dart 2.0. “What the fuck? That’s real dark, Shagster.” He looks over at Mike who is the only one left in the car while Patty talks to Stan outside. “Where did you find this kid?”

“New York City, I think,” replies Mike.

“You’re right. I mean, I’m not from there, but that’s where we all met, New York City.”

Not much of a response turns up via Richie. He sort of hums clinging to a stupid idea about New York City. He slips out the side Stan left on tucking his hands into his pockets. He leans in looking at Will and Dart 2.0. “So we’ll go through the front and um you two should go through the back.” He plucks a keycard from his pocket and tosses it to Will missing Will entirely cause it’s not like he was ever good at sports or rock fights for that matter. The keycard lands near Will’s foot, but several inches. Without unbuckling he reaches forward to grab it. “Room 217.”

Will squints at him. “That’s a joke, right?”

“No, not at all. You’d be laughing if I said some stupid, fucking joke. I’m so good at it, it’s my job. I’m in room 217. Get in through the back and leave the door unlocked because I’d like to go home.” With this Richie slams the door shut to stand closer to Stan and Patty who both ignore him even as Mike comes over. Richie is at least quick and straight to the point telling them the short plan of Dart 2.0 sneaking right on in through the back into the hotel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I uh am really struggling with this but um it's about to get better, promise (maybe. The betterness depends on your brain probably)


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey it's about to get all spooky!

A real, actual, fucking podcast. Richie sits on his phone scrolling through the Interludes with Mike Hanlon while sitting in his room way too close to a monster dog and a stranger for any comfort. The podcast titles don’t help either like Lady in the Dunes, a cold case surrounding a woman found almost decapitated on a beach.

“Wow, Mike, looks like you’re into some wild shit.” He looks up at Mike, Stan, and Patty all sitting there while Will spends more time with Dart 2.0 than the rest of them. “I should start my own podcast, Richie’s All Dead Rock Show or somethin’.”

“Right, I think I'm going to get some sleep now.” Stan stands up and looks around. They’re all in some shit hotel room without a lot of space and probably a lot more cockroaches crawling on the ground. “Or maybe not.”

Richie hits play smirking while listening to Mike’s voice. _“The problem with hotels is that they’re places full of superstition. Not sure if superstition is what attracts the supernatural or the supernatural that attracts the superstition.” He stops it. “You’re not here for me. You just love hotels.”_

“Why are you even staying here right now?” Mike asks.

“Oh yeah, I accidentally started a fire in my place.” Richie plugs his phone in. Everybody waits with a _how_ hanging in between them all. “Oh I was smoking while drunk and too tired to function. So look at me now, in this place. Don’t know why I chose it. It’s got a high suicide rate and like serial killers are into staying here.”

“We should look for the girl,” Will says looking up at the ceiling.

“How about not?” replies Richie.

“It’s hard to be the one who is missing,” adds Will without looking at them.

Richie is about to make some bad joke when a knock startles them all. Patty yelps and covers her mouth and Dart 2.0 is close to growling at the door. Richie leaps to his feet throwing a blanket off the bed and whips it into Dart 2.0, which is amazing ‘cause the demodog doesn’t attack him.

“Just a minute. . .I’m. . .naked. . .!” Richie shouts and he signals everybody to be quiet before making his way to the door. There’s a peep hole, but it’s useless with a crack running through the glass. It looks awful empty out in the hallway. Instead, he opens the door leaving a little chain lock between the door and the door frame. Nobody is out there. Richie pulls the little chain lock free and goes to look out in the hallway where he is all alone. “Hey guys. . .” He walks back into the room. Will moves in front of Dart 2.0 so no one in the hallway can see him. “. . .About that whole superstition hotel crap. . .” Before anybody says a word, Richie steps out of sigh leaving them all there to wait with the door wide open and no Richie.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who's a good boy? This demodog is a good boy and oh wait what else is that? A possible like maybe a cute thing about to go on between Will and Richie? Where's Eddie? I promise he'll be here soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Am I doing this wrong? Am I failing? Pls pay attention to me or I'll die. Also I feel like rather than getting to the point there is A LOT of filler and that'd be good to know or if it's not. I don't know. 
> 
> Just casually stressed over here.

“Richie?” There’s still no sign of him since he stepped out into the hallway leaving the room open to a lot of questions. Stan and Mike look at each other before walking out into the hall only for Richie to leap out surprising them so bad Mike’s fist springs out hitting Richie square in the face knocking his glasses off his face. They don’t snap in two, at least. They’re crooked though when he puts them back on his face. “What the actual fuck, Richie?”

“You’re the one who punched me!” yells Richie.

“Because-Because I thought you were someone bad! Come on!”

“RICHIE! A murder took place here!” Stan shouts entering their argument. “An actual murder.”

“You don’t know that, she could still be alive.” But as soon as Richie says it, it sounds so stupid. The lot of them have seen enough dark corners in this world to know better.

Mike sighs. “Don’t scare me like that again, man. Or I swear, I’ll like break your nose next time.”

But Richie looks over Mike’s shoulder while Stan stands there shaking his head. Richie has his eyes locked on the elevator door while its little bell starts to ring. Somebody is coming their way. “Well, hope you’re ready to start hating me because shit is about to get real weird in a few seconds.” He points at the elevator as it nears them. Will takes a step out into the hallway looking at it. There’s some sort of tension brewing between them and Richie mumbles numbers under his breath. Counting up because counting down is more terrifying.

_One._

_Two._

_Three._

“I just wanna say, I’m mad that you all never came to visit me on your own choice. Instead, it’s all these stupid fucking cosmic sources at play.”

Stan and Mike are about to say _What_, but Richie is louder with his _four_ and the doors open. Bev and Ben walk out. They look as if they’ve seen better days and could use some luggage for walking into a hotel. She has a set of heels on even though one is broken so Ben supports her. Neither of them look up at first while Ben whispers something to Bev making her laugh.

It’s Will who speaks while he stares at Richie, “How did you know that?” Not that Will knew who they were, but by the looks on Stan’s and Mike’s face these were friends who were not supposed to be around in such a moment. Someone like Richie isn’t just supposed to know they’re unplanned arrival.

Richie smirks at him. He’s not the sort that can keep a low voice though, “Trade secret, I’m afraid.”

Ben and Bev look up at the first time. It’s good they don’t have luggage, it’d be all over the floor. The two look as if they’re about to topple over.

“Oh my God!” Bev shouts. “Oh my God!” she shouts a little louder and pops her shoes off and darts over to Mike hugging him first. “MIKE! STAN! Oh my God! What are the chances?”

“I don’t think you want to know,” replies Richie even though he looks past them at the elevator. Doesn’t even occur to him that she didn’t shout Richie, too. His mind is gone, all twisted up inside itself. There’s a moment he almost pictures what’s on his mind of the elevator doors about to close but Eddie catching them then walks out to find them there all together again. Except the doors close without anybody about to exit them. The elevator starts to click away going back down to the lobby.

“What next? Eddie?” Ben asks while he laughs. He just finished hugging Stan turning to look over at Richie. “That’d be perfect, right?”

Richie shakes his head. “Eddie’s not coming, he’s stuck in New York.” He starts off down the hallway opposite of the elevator. “I’m gonna go get some ice.”

“Ice? For what?” Stan yells.

Will is the one who follows him. “A girl has gone missing! We shouldn’t split up.”

“But what about Dart?” Mike yells after them. 

Ben and Bev turn their attention to the open door about to catch sight of Dart 2.0, but Patty is there pulling the door close just enough so she’s looking out. “Um hi, I’m Patty. Stan’s wife.” She pauses for a bit then adds, “But you can call me. . .Dart. . .because. . .I have won a. . .dart throwing championship.

Stan bursts into laughter, much to the surprise of everyone.

###

“Do they even still make ice machines?” Will asks while he trails Richie. 

Richie is looking from side to side but there’s one room after another on both sides without a lot of sounds spilling out. It’s the sort of hotel with such thin walls you hear all the conversations in the rooms and stuck in between in the hallway. All the people fucking each other and maybe even the ghosts. 

“I haven’t even seen a sign for an ice machine.”

Richie stops and looks back at him. “Yeah, you’re right. Another thing.” He signals to the doors around them. “None of these rooms have number signs because that’s not creepy at all.”

Will smiles, not a real one, and not quite as sad as a Stan smile. “Cool, cool. So we’re about to die and we’re about to die for some ice.”

“It’s too soon.”

“To die?”

“No, it’s too soon to start dying for ice. Climate change hasn’t really punched us all in the face yet.”

“That’s not funny,” Will mutters only to realize Richie starts walking forward again. 

“Shut up, I’m hilarious. A bona fide stand up comedian.”

“Ok, but if we don’t go back now you won’t be a comedian for long. You’d just be dead.”

But Richie doesn’t stop to turn back. Nope, not at all. Instead, he moves to one of the doors wriggling its knob unable to pop it open then he reaches for another one. He tugs at the door knob to find it all super locked. Not once does Will help. Before making his way to another door. “So what’s your story, kid?”

“I think I’m older than you all.”

“I mean, are you? Look at you, you’re like a seedling.”

“A seedling? What? What does that mean?”

“Don’t know. It’s just the first word I thought of, like a small tree.”

“You mean _sapling_, a small tree or like a young tree is a _sapling_.”

“Whatever you say, Seedling.” Of course Richie laughs at his own joke.

“Don’t call me that,” snaps Will. He didn’t really mean to, but it happens. More because of Richie exploring the most likely haunted hotel hall.

Richie grabs onto another door and this one clicks when he move it a bit. He dramatically gawks at Will about to open it but Will reaches out, not that it helps.

“I don’t think you should do that.”

“Why?”

Will inhales deeply and counts the seconds as the air enters his lungs. It’s long, it helps. And when he exhales it’s as if he is releasing all the bad, the monsters that have dug themselves too deep inside of them. “I mean, it’s stupid. You don’t know what’s in there. It could be a murderer.”

“Or a monster.”

“What do you know about monsters?”

“Little on dog monsters, but I’m an actual expert on clowns monsters. Know way too much about that fucked up sort of shit.” Richie releases the doorknob letting it click back into place. “We should head back.” 

This receives a major eye roll from Will because that’s what he already said. Instead, Will turns around ready to take the lead back. “What’s your story?” 

Richie smirks at him even though Will’s back is to him, he tucks his hands into his pockets to pick at any loose threads there. “That’s not a story for the faint of heart.”

This round gets a face palm from Will. He wants to let Richie know he should actually shut up instead, he’s way too loud. Somewhere behind them there’s a thump then a creak. Some unseen door opens before it snaps shut. The two stand there looking down the hallway, just there’s no real end in sight, which is a problem all together. The hotel wasn’t close to being that big for one thing, and _never ending_ hall meant it’d go on for one long time.

Richie’s one hand flounders out grabbing Will by the elbow about to pull him out of the way. There’s no way to tell what’s down the hall, but doesn’t matter. “Don’t worry, I know what to do in a situation like this,” Richie tells Will.

“Oh?” Will practically a whole step behind Richie, who still hasn’t released his elbow. “What?”

“Run!”

It doesn’t click into place, but Richie shoves Will forward to get him moving. It’s a bad head start because Will faceplants and Richie’s feet get caught in his legs and collapses on top of poor Will. Somewhere else there’s a scream. Richie peels himself away from Will and reaches down to help Will up to his feet, but the moment Richie is helping him off the ground, Will collapses with tremors running through his body as his eyes roll up in the back of his head.

“Oh um wow? Hey! Hey Seedling!” Richie shouts at Will. There are a few more screams behind them and splintering wood. “Seedling! Seedling!” Shit, shit. Richie’s not the sort of person to help out in such a situation. Maybe if Will was drunk, but he’d turn the person over so they would not choke on all his vomit. Richie drops to his knees about to figure out a way to swing Will from the ground. “C’mon! Get up, Seedling! Snap out of it! Man! Fuck you, Will!” Before Richie can fully swing Will from the ground, Dart 2.0 stands beside them. His blossom head peeling apart with teeth to bear and a growl.

Something is coming at them. Richie kneels there holding onto Will not sure what to do next. Probably pick the kid up and run back toward the room or the elevator and then the rest of the Losers are back there. Two of who would be ready to help Will seeing they know him. Richie manages to swing Will over his shoulder and braces himself as he stands up with the extra weight. Dart 2.0 next to them growling at some approaching doom.

Dart 2.0 keeps his stance while looking at the endless hall. Richie holds tight to Will taking a step backward. Richie points at Dart 2.0, “You’re a good fucking boy! A real good fucking boy!” With that he turns around holding to Will sprinting back after the rest of the Losers, but the fucking all is so fucking long, it didn’t even seem like they made it too far along earlier when looking for the ice machine. For some reason, Richie’s first thought is how pissed Mike was about to be when he trips losing his glasses all over again. Richie groans leaning his face into the ground. The world is a blur and a monster is located somewhere within it.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Can you imagine what Eddie would say about this place?” Bev laughs. She tugs at the edge of Richie’s blanket on his bed. “At least it looks like there’s room service. Ugh can you imagine if we had a black light?”
> 
> “Staph infection, everywhere,” add Ben.
> 
> “That’s-That’s not how you get a staph infection,” Stan corrects then he pauses for a bit. “I mean, that’s what Eddie would say. “More like a syphilis.”

It’d be better with Richie back, and probably Will, too. Patty sits on the floor though glad Richie is in fact gone. She flips through the channels. A crack runs through the screen though and one section is all white noise. Behind her everybody is chatting and catching up, sharing some food they ordered, which in Patty’s opinion, was rude because Richie and Will weren’t around to order food. She almost drops the remote. It stops on the news and she looks back, mainly at Stan.

“Can you imagine what Eddie would say about this place?” Bev laughs. She tugs at the edge of Richie’s blanket on his bed. “At least it looks like there’s room service. Ugh can you imagine if we had a black light?”

“Staph infection, everywhere,” add Ben.

“That’s-That’s not how you get a staph infection,” Stan corrects then he pauses for a bit. “I mean, that’s what Eddie would say. “More like a syphilis.”

“Hey guys, where is Richie and Will?” Patty interrupts. “They’ve been gone for a long time.”

Everybody shuts up real fast. From underneath the bed Dart 2.0 pokes his head out causing Bev to screech as she leaps to her feet staring at it than at Patty than back at Dart 2.0. 

“That’s actually Will’s pet, not hers,” Stan corrects Bev, but it’s not like she said anything.

“Ok, what’s going on,” Ben asks.

“Richie and Will have been gone for like an hour,” continues Patty.

“Maybe they’re making out,” mutters Mike with a shrug. Stan snorts. “What? It could happen?”

There’s an uncomfortable silence that falls over them and that’s even with Bev who stops screeching while she gawks at Dart 2.0.

“Will has better taste in men than men like Richie,” retorts Patty, “Trust me. We’ve talked.”

“I’m sorry, but can we talk about. . .” Bev points at Dart 2.0 who lunges forward bursting through the door getting everybody to shut up, all over again.

“He’s Will’s pet,” Stan repeats himself. It’s in a very curt manner. Bev wrinkles her nose and looks at Ben for some help. “I don’t know where they met. He doesn’t talk about it.”

“Ok, but shouldn’t we look for Richie and Will, who may or may not be kissing?” Patty isn’t done.

But Mike interrupts them pointing at the screen. “Hey. . .um. . .guys. . .look at this. . .”

They turn their attention to the TV at least. There’s some sort of interview going on with some sort of bad sketch of some man in the corner although bad sketch it may be, he sure looks like a Bill Denbourough, which is impossible because he’s dead, but the people of Derry never really die. Stan signals for Patty to turn it up and she does.

“I-I-I don’t know, he kept trying to say this thing,” a woman says to a newscaster interviewing her.

“What was that?”

“Um something like he hits or he thrusts his fists against the posts and still sees the ghosts.”

This was the type of moment where Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier was needed to say _fuck_ about their lives because fuck, _fuck_ this actual shit. The Losers all look at each other leaving poor Patty clueless to what’s happening other than the fact Richie and Will have been gone for sometime now and none of them have bothered to take notice.

“It’s probably just a coincidence,” Bev brushes off.

“Yeah, makes sense.” Ben shrugs and touches the back of her hand.

“Bev. Ben.” Mike is so serious as he speaks. “When have our lives ever been dictated by just coincidences?” While he pauses, it’s really just for drama. Bev is about to speak up to agree, but Mike goes on. “We were passing through when Patty wanted to stop and investigate a girl’s disappearance that happens to be at the hotel Richie lives in.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Richie fucking lives here?” Bev sneers as she looks around at the place before she starts to nod. “Yeah, seems about right. Bet he thrives here.”

“In a hotel that is haunted by serial killers. . .” Mike tries to continue.

“Did he-did you just say serial killers?” Ben tries to get a word in.

“Then you two show up, and we still haven’t discussed how you showed up.”

Yeah because Bev nor Ben had any idea how they ended up there. It sort of just happened, the only hotel that would let them get a room for a night after the mess of the day they had earlier. Somebody stole their car right after visiting some gala.

Patty raises her hand like she’s in school.”Ok but hear me out, Richie and Will have been missing and Dart 2.0 ran out of here with a mission, serial killers and a girl has gone missing. Don’t you think we should check that out?”

“No, not really,” replies Ben shaking his head.

Bev shoots him a dirty look. “What? Are you scared?”

“Did you see what they call a pet?”

Stan adds in a mumble pointing at the screen, “And apparently an evil Bill is out there.”

Since nobody else is bothering to help, Patty stands up shaking her head. “Fine then. I’m going to make sure they’re ok because I care about Will.” She pauses for a long time making her way to the broken door. “And Richie needs to pay for this door because I’m not covering the charge.”

“Harsh.” Mike stands up to follow her with Stan close behind. He catches up to his wife leaning against her whispering something. “You two can stay, and if they come back, just tell them to stay, too.”

And on that note, they’re gone leaving Ben and Bev behind in Richie’s hotel room. Bev stares at Ben even though he’s busy watching the TV. “I think I might actually just retire for the night in our room.”

“Hey Bev. . .” Ben points at the screen, all creepy like Mike earlier. “Apparently evil Bill is in Maine.”

Bev groans burying her face into her knees. “There really are no coincidences in our lives.” Even with the other Losers asking them to stay put, she gets up to go look for the two. Outside there’s no one in sight, which is too strange for any bit of comfort. The hall stretches on in one direction while the elevator is close. It’s number is lit up showing it’s in the lobby. Meanwhile, the Losers would be in sight still seeing they all just left and there’s the whole giant, monster pet who is also nowhere to be seen. Again, Bev groans. It rings too true.

There really are no coincidences in the lives of losers.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are nicknames and there is singing and there is a very injured Richie falling in love with the wrong person (right before he meets Eddie again and there is gonna be some heartbreaking drama for someone).

_It’s going to be ok. It’s going to be ok. I’m going to be ok. I’m ok. I’m ok. I’m really ok._ Will opens his eyes to find Richie Tozier leaning way too close to his face for comfort, but right away Richie sits up a bit. He’s kneeling next to Will, and for some reason, Will actually smile at him. His thoughts remain in their loop. _I’m ok. I’m really ok._ Dart 2.0 is curled up beside the two of them. Richie even has a hand resting on the back of his paw.

Richie taps Will’s cheek. “Rise and shine, Seedling.”

“Don’t call me that,” Will sits up too fast, their foreheads collide. Will lies back down covering his forehead while looking up at Richie. “Um sorry. I’m um Will Byers.”

“Yeah, I know, but I renamed you.”

Will continues to lie there squinting at Richie. “Well, I demand another renaming then.”

“Pasta.”

“What?” Again, Will sits up too fast smacking face first into Richie who instead leans back from him in this round. The two are sitting inside of room. Will looks at the door, somehow Richie pulled the dresser in front of it. “You can’t call me pasta.” He snaps his attention back at Richie. “No way am I letting you call me Pasta.”

“Rigatoni?”

“Are you seriously asking if you can call me Rigatoni?” Will bursts into laughter.

“Macaroni?”

“Shut up, you’re just naming types of pasta.”

Richie grins, it’s some stupid big grin unlike all the times earlier Will saw him smirk. No real honesty in it until that moment. They’re about to maybe die and Will is stuck there smiling at some stupid, actual smile from some guy he just met. “Gnocchi. No! Ravioli! Ravioli! Even though if you were Macaroni, I could’ve called you Mac Attack.”

Will chuckles looking down at the small space between them. “We should-We should get going.”

“No, I think some ghost is out there,” replies Richie. “Not to mention that whole like convulsion thing you did early. Seems more like a 911 thing than an outrun a ghost thing.”

Will leans forward and buries his face into the tops of his knees. “I um. . .the thing out there, it’s gone, it’s up on the roof. Don’t know why, but it’s up there. I like am. . .can we just go now?”

“Yeah, yeah sure.” Right before Richie stands up, he pulls some small gun out from by his ankle. “Dart here and I got this. We’ll shoot that motherfucking ghost down.” He reached out with his free hand helping Will to his feet who is staring at the little tiny gun. “Ready?”

“I’m sorry, but did you have a gun this whole time? Is it even loaded?”

“Yeah, have you seen my fucking home? It’s dangerous, and like we’re dealing with some danger shit. Now help me out over here, Ravioli.” Richie holds onto Will’s hand for a bit as they make their way over to the dresser and start to push it out of the way only for Will to stop. The second Will does, Richie stops too looking up at him looking as if he’s ready to catch Will if Will falls over again. “Ravioli?”

“There’s something else out there. . .”

“Oh.” Richie continues to push the dresser out of the way. “This is really going to fucking suck, isn’t it?”

“I also know where the girl is.”

“The missing one?”

“Yeah.” Will pauses for a bit no longer helping Richie who finishes shoving the dresser out of the way. “She’s also on the roof. . .I don’t think she’s ok. . .at all. . .”

For the drama, Richie kicks the door open holding up his tiny ass gun. “I’m um sorry to hear that. We should still go up and help her. Right?”

Will nods. Dart 2.0 moves a lot closer to him and before they enter the hallway. Will closes his eyes for a few seconds telling himself. _It’s going to be ok. It’s going to be ok. I’m going to be ok. I’m ok. I’m ok. I’m really ok._

###

“This is your host, Mike Hanlon with his faux Scooby-Gang . . .”

“What are you doing?” Bev interrupts Mike who is speaking into a recorder.

“It’s his thing now,” Stan tells her.

“Interludes with Mike Hanlon.” Patty adds with a misplaced laugh, nobody else laughs.

Stan, Patty, Mike, Ben, and Bev all walk down a hall with one another. Mike is in the lead, he tucks his recorder into his pocket behind him. The second it’s out of touch all the lights shudder off. That hiss of electricity is gone. And the five stand real still in the absolute silence. Up ahead some loud banging sound starts up, nonstop. Bev and Patty both think up the same idea at once. They use their phone flashlights to reveal all sorts of shadows fluttering around the hallway. Somewhere in one of the rooms a clicking sound begins and goes on and on and on and on until a song starts to play at a whisper. Some old forlorn song, probably about war, _Goin’ Out of My Head_ by Little Anthony & The Imperials. It’s too dark for any of the Losers to give one another a look, but Ben, Mike and Stan pull out their phones for flashlights. Not that it helps because those shadows are all moseying about in the hallway turning around and around to the song playing on some old and hidden record player.

Mike pulls his recorder back out pressing record and says, “And the red death held sway over all.”

“Why would you say that?” asks Bev. “It’s so creepy.”

“I don’t know just felt about right.” Mike puts his recorder back and they sort of stand around looking at all those shadows surrounding them.

“I think we should split up,” Ben states only for Bev to playfully slap him in the back of the head. “What?”

“That’s the dumbest thing ever! We can’t split up that’s how people die!”

“I thought our mantra was Losers stick together,” Stan pipes up.

Patty pokes Stan in the shoulder. “I think we should be quiet.”

Mike pulls the recorder back out again hitting the button letting the sounds fill it. The whispered song of _Goin’ Out of My Head_ plays. He holds it out following one of the shadows with the Losers creeping super close behind him. The shadow mumbles, close to tears then another one comes pretty close to them and Bev just makes out her face. A woman she’s seen so, so, so many times before. The two of them lock eyes on each other. Bev stalls looking at the shadow.

Maybe somewhere in the back of her head, there’s a memory of the woman once having been around the hotel.”Elizabeth Short,” Bev whispers. They look at her and the shadow. Bev can still make out her face as she smiles at Bev. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry? Sorry for what?” she replies.

“I um don’t know, just. . .sorry.”

There’s a quirk to Elizabeth Short’s smile and she walks away without a comment.

Bev looks at Mike for some answers. “Why is this place so haunted?”

“Simple.” Stan who offers up an answer. “A lot of people have died here.”

A lot of people have died in Derry yet Bev never saw a ghost there. Worse than a ghost. She looks around listening to the music play unsure whose it is, doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of the moment. Chances are they all came together not by coincidence for other things. She can’t help but think about the TV earlier and the sketch that looked a whole like Bill of some murderer in the woods who kept on saying:

He thrusts his fists against the posts and still sees the ghosts.

###

The hallway is super empty with the elevators waiting wide open at the end. Will thinks of the girl and how it looked like she played hide-and-go-seek there. He stays behind Richie and Dart 2.0 is behind him growling the entire way. Something moves in and out of the elevator then all the lights shudder off plunging them into the darkness.

Neither of them move. “This is so fucking stupid,” blurts Richie unable to keep his mouth shut. “I hate all this scary shit.”

“Rich. . .” Will whispers and points over his shoulder at the elevator. Its lights remain on even though the electricity is out everywhere else. A shadow hovers inside. It looks almost as if a person is standing inside and they can spot their shadow. “We need to get to the roof.”

Richie looks back at Will, still standing in the same place with his little gun in hand. He really, really, really just wants to say no and take the stairs instead. Leave this place. Go to the bar. If he could make it back to his room, he had some weed tucked away under the mattress. Except when Will moves ahead without him, Richie follows and is actually quiet for a change. It’s never a good sign when someone with the nickname Trashmouth is real fucking quiet. Will had yet to learn his claim to fame though so maybe it seemed all normal. 

Before entering the elevator, Richie pauses hearing some sort of distant song behind a door down the hall, _A Teenager in Love_ by Dion & The Belmonts. Richie has a full body shudder. “Doo wop. The songs of my actual nightmares.”

“Rich!” Will is in the elevator with Dart 2.0 and Richie on the other side. He backs in right before the doors close and Will hits the button for floor 14. “It’s actually floor 13.”

“Why can’t it be good music like something by Joy Division or Siouxsie & The Banshees? Or The Jesus and Mary Chain, great music. _Just Like Honey_, I could listen to it forever. Any song by the three bands I mentioned is better than doo wop, doo wop is for ghosts.

The elevator is beeping real loud and Will tilts his head to the side. “Don’t know any of those bands.”

“Shut up! What? You at least know Joy Division, trust me. _Love Will Tear Us Apart_? I’m gonna fucking fix this later.”

Will looks Richie in the eyes. “Promise?”

“Promise? Promise what?”

Will looks instead at the ground. They’re so close to their final floor. “What you said. Fix this later, promise to show me your favorite bands?”

Richie avoids looking at him to watch the elevator tick away. “I mean, maybe. I don’t know.”

“Ok?” Will looks up at the elevator sign as its ticking away towards the actual thirteenth floor. “I like The Clash.”

The doors open up before Richie can manage a retort. A chill runs through the whole floor and the stairwell to the roof is wide open with that door swinging open and close, open and close even though it’s not even windy out not to mention it never gets too cold in LA. Not this sort of cold. The cold bites into Richie’s bones while he stands there holding onto his little gun hoping to shoot something.

Will is the first to sprint up the stairs. They’re all crooked and rusty. Richie almost loses his balance. “Wait! WILL!” He chases after him up to the roof. Not quite top of the world roof, but they’re up somewhat high enough. It’s not even cold out there. The heat feels sick and sweaty already out there. Richie stops close to the door, too close because it snaps shut scraping his back. He whirls around to grab onto the knob making an attempt to rip it back open. “Hey Macaroni, I think we should turn around!”

“I thought you were calling me Ravioli!”

“Changed my mind again, Mac Attack.” Richie holds onto the door handle with his one hand.

There’s a clatter somewhere on the rooftop. The two look over to a corner near a water tank up there. Richie releases the door to move closer to where Will stands while they both look in that direction. A shadow moves but it’s unlike the one from earlier. An actual human is over there. Dart 2.0 presses his stomach close to the ground and starts to growl a bit. Bad move. Whoever is over there whirls around looking at them. Turns out they have a gun in hand too and start firing it.

“WILL!” screams Richie throwing himself into Will and they both hit the ground. Dart 2.0 takes off about to walk around back behind whoever is over there. The gun Richie had falls away from them. Richie keeps a hand on Will while rolling a bit away from him screaming, “JESUS, MARY, AND JOSEF FUCKING STALIN!

Someone runs toward them kicking the gun out of the way from them and stomps on Will’s hand in his attempt to grab onto it. Will bites down on his hand in an attempt to note scream. He knew he would be ok, he knew he would be ok because he had been through so, so, so much worse. He looks up at the guy. Someone in a hotel uniform. Richie spits in the guy’s face gaining enough distraction to kick out as hard as he can into the guy’s fucking shins causing the guy stumble over losing his gun. Will hops up to his feet grabbing onto the gun pointing it down at the employee.

“What are you doing? What are you doing up here?” he shouts at the employee. “WHERE IS SHE?” The man doesn’t say a word while lying there scowling at them. Will closes his eyes, it’s a mistake because the guy kicks out. Will lands so hard on his back there are sparks dancing all around him and it’s more like he choked on his breath then it all bursting free from his lungs.

Richie on the other hand struggles up to his feet and throws his body weight into the man. They’re a mess as they crash into the ground. The man punches him in the face. His glasses crack and Richie shouts covering his face. The frames crash to the ground. Will rejoins them crushing the last of Richie’s surviving glasses. But honestly, Will didn’t fucking care. He screamed and began kicking the man in the side to knock him off Richie. He knocks the guy right off Richie and just in time for Dart 2.0 to charge at the guy, face peeling apart just so he can grab onto his dinner. All those teeth ripping through his flesh. Blood spurts everywhere and Richie gags hoping he won’t throw up, but nope, nope, he fucking starts to vomit while clutching his one arm. With his elbow he wipes away his mouth.

“The water tank,” Will says.

“What about it?” asks Richie.

“He put her in it.” Will directs his attention to the water tank on the roof while Dart 2.0 continues to eat whoever it was that attacked him and the girl. The door opens up as the rest of the Losers find their way up onto the roof. Coincidences don’t exist for them, that’s for sure. Will looks at them. Mike is still holding the recorder out collecting so many sounds. “The girl, she was murdered. He put her over there.” 

“Wow. That’s so fucked up,” Richie says behind Will.

Will looks back at Richie who is still holding onto shi shoulder. They’re both covered in blood, drenched in it. Will looks at himself then up at Richie and starts to laugh. “We’re such a mess.”

“Yeah, I mean, I’m more of a mess because I’m pretty sure I got shot, but like shot just a tiny bit, but I’m pretty sure I was still fucking shot by a real gun like we should really call 922 because I got shot.”

“RICHIE!” It’s a bit dramatic but Will runs over to Richie as if Richie is about to collapse. Instead, he still stands there holding onto his arm. There’s blood seeping out from between his fingers. He’s standing just fine. “You’re gonna be ok, I swear. Also. . .it’s 911, you could’ve ended up dead because we called someone else. That’d be so bad.”

Already Bev is calling 911 while avoiding looking at Dart 2.0, it’s just another new reality for them. Their lives were like that. She turns away from the scene. Mike just stands there holding onto the recorder still collecting each of those stands. He’s about to move closer to Richie and Will but stops watching them there. He’s pretty sure he overhears Richie say something about macaroni, which is about when Mike shuts the recorder off afraid to capture whatever they may say next.

Richie buries his face into Will’s shoulder. “Macaroni! Mac! Pasta! I-I wrote you a song!”

Will is awkwardly standing there leaning a bit away from his bloody arm before wrapping his arms around Richie instead. “Please don’t.”

“Thursday I don’t care about you, It’s Friday I’m in love. . .” Richie starts to sing into Will’s shoulder.

“Richie. . .that's not even The Clash, that's the Cure.”

“Macaroni! I’m dying, let me die they way I lived, singing the wrong song!”

“The police are on their way. We should either stay or leave,” Bev shouts.

“Those are two very different options,” Ben points out.

Richie still leans into Will. “I’m so glad this is done, I’m so fucking done with the supernatural bullshit.”

“I don’t think we’re done with that _supernatural bullshit_,” Bev informs them.

Except Richie doesn’t look up he groans while holding his arm and keeps his face buried against Will’s shoulder. “Everything is stupid and I’m dying, I’m dying because everything is stupid.” He looks up pinching Will’s cheek which starts him, his nose wrinkles up. “At least I got to meet you Macaroni before I died.”

“Rich, you’re not dying like it’s actually just a scratch.”

“I’ll have you know, Khal Drogo died of just a scratch,” Richie corrects only realizing again Will has no idea what. He rolls his eyes and is about to lean his face into Will’s shoulder again, but Will instead helps him to move towards the rest of the Losers. It’s time to make a run for it and run for it. On their journey away, Richie still hums his song for Will who avoid any eye contact with him on their way out to the mock Mystery Machine. Everybody else is quiet and unsure what to say, but needless to say, they were about to find out the supernatural bullshit wasn’t over with while Richie Tozier is far from dead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping this up to move on so EDDIE can enter.
> 
> (Also Just Like Honey by The Jesus and Mary Chain has become my love song for Richie and Will. But also I kinda wanna match songs I'd imagine in Stranger Things and It Ch. 1 w/ some 90's like The Eels or Elliott Smith that may fit.)


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wrapping up some nonsense and the Losers are headed to Maine to pick up Eleven and Eddie along away. I mean, they don't know it yet but there's gonna be some drama as Richie and Will grow closer to one another on this cross country roadtrip. Also Mike doesn't realize it yet but he also ships Reddie.

The Losers all sit in the van as it slips away from the city and by slipping away, it’s really stuck in a whole lot of traffic. Patty drives while Stan sits beside her in the passenger seat playing with maps on his phone looking or something. This leaves Richie, Mike, Ben and Bev sitting near the front of the van then behind them Will sits in the back with Dart 2.0. as per usual.

It’s pretty quiet, but probably because Richie has his headsets in. He’s closing his eyes while leaning back in his seat picking at some loose thread on his arm sling. At some point, Bev drew on it as a joke writing out Loser in big black letters before using a red marker to write a “v” over the “s.” For some reason, Richie looked as if he were about to cry over this, which lead to him leaning back in his seat lost to his music. This also meant Will found himself sitting alone again counting his breaths while chewing on his bottom lip.

_You’re ok, you’re going to be ok_, he keeps reminding himself while planning a conversation in his head. He would reach out, pull one headset free from Richie and make a comment something along the lines of “You owe me a music lesson, remember?” Maybe he’d even find some sort of nickname for Richie to match his. Cheese? to his macaroni. A little too on the nose and the two of them just met. _You’re ok, you’re going to be ok. You got this, you got this._ Will opens his mouth about to say anything then doesn’t. Instead, he lies down and turns his attention to Dart 2.0. _You’re not ok._

Bev speaks up for the lot of them. Makes sense that she and Mike would sort of be their leader without Bill around, and without Bill around is the problem between them. “So what now? We have to do something.”

“It’s probably nothing,” Stan mutters while he plays with the map. “I’m not-I’m not seeing anything to help us get out of this traffic.”

“Since when has it ever been _nothing_?” retorts Mike.

Stan groans. He leans back covering his face. Patty releases one hand from the steering wheel to touch his knee. “Promise me our _what’s next_ is a relaxing journey across the country to Maine, please. I hear southeastern Arizona is a great place to go bird watching and wherever the Grand Canyon is, seems like a cool place to stop.”

“Oh fuck! We gotta go to Carhenge and see a giant ball of yarn!” Richie shouts pulling his headsets out. “Or Cadillac Ranch! Or some place with dinosaurs! I wanna go someplace with some fucking dinosaurs. How sick would that be?”

Mike attempts to mediate, he looks over at Richie. “I think Stan would prefer places where he can go bird watch.”

“Well it’s a good thing birds are dinosaurs then!”

Stan nods looking back at Mike. “No, actually, I think that’s true.”

“Of course it’s fucking true. I mean, the theropods are the dinosaurs so think raptor or meat eaters. Just look at their little feets, birds. Biiiiiiirds are dinosaurs.”

This is a good chance. Will sits up just to pipe up. “How do you know all that?” It’s stupid but he got a conversation going with Richie.

Richie leans his head back to look at Will. “Fun fact, I’m really fucking smart, just too obnoxious for school.” He shrugs and regrets it instantly. A string of curse words burst from his mouth silencing everybody for a moment.

“Let’s do it.” Ben smiles at them. “Let’s go on a little adventure first before we tackle maybe our dead friend to the ground. Sounds like a reasonable choice.”

“Can’t wait to see some fucking dinosaurs,” Richie mutters as he unbuckles his seatbelt.

“Please-Please don’t do that!” Patty tries to yell in time, but Richie is standing up. Of course it’s right when they’re moving again in traffic. At least it’s slow and all stop and go. “Richard! Sit down!”

Nothing from Richie. He keeps on moving and sits down next to Will. There’s a bunch of blankets back there and he lies down on them looking up and smiling at Will. Only Mike stares at them. Everybody else sort of smiles and gives them what little privacy can exist in a can. For some reason though, Mike watches the two thinking of all the things he should say from how him and Richie should trade spots that he would sit back with Will or Will is too nerdy for Richie and plays too much D&D for Richie’s comfort.

Richie is still lying back there smiling at Will who pretends he’s petting Dart 2.0 so Richie won’t see him blushing the entire time. His cheeks are burning too hot while his heart is about to pop, which really would be so, so unfortunate ‘cause he’d die.

“Hey, Macaroni, has anybody ever told you that you’re a real fucking trooper?” asks Richie.

“His name is Will!” Mike interrupts. “It’s Will, his name. It’s Will.”

Bev slaps his elbow and mouths the word _Stop_ because let’s be real, Richie deserves a break.

Mike glares at her and would have to try to figure out how to explain why Will is better than Richie and why Richie should find someone else. The same applied to Eddie. Not that he ever put two-and-two together back in the day but it sure seemed like Eddie didn’t either. For someone so loud, Richie sure kept quiet about his love life.

“Yeah, I don’t think anyone has ever really said that to me,” replies will still avoiding looking at Richie because all the blushing, it’d be an embarrassment. They’re too old for that sort of shit. “Has anyone ever told you that. . .”

“I’m handsome? Yes. That I have the biggest dick they’ve ever seen? Yes. That I’m a huge dig? Also yes.”

Will changes the subject after he lies down next to Richie with Dart 2.0 curled up beside them. He stares up at the van’s ceiling wondering if they’d both die if there is a car crash. Neither of them have seatbelts on.

“Oh, we're not going to get in a car accident,” Richie tells Will.

_I never said that out loud. . ._ Will gawks at Richie, still lying there. Richie turns his head so they’re both looking at each other even though their noses are close to touching. Way too close, not that there is a lot of space in the back of the van, especially with the whole demodog situation. Will avoids the conversation and looks back up at the ceiling while Richie still watches him. At some point, he put on a different pair of glasses after complaining the entire time at the hospital about how the world is a blur and he hates modern art. His black glasses are a little big for his face and held together with some white tape.

“Hmmm. . .another time,” Richie adds. He closes his eyes while lying there next to Will. Even though he didn’t really specify what _another time_ meant, Will had a feeling they both were in the know of that. Nobody really questions this part of the conversation out loud. Also, nobody knows Will had been sitting there for a long time wanting to remind Richie he owes Will a music lesson.

Richie’s breathing slows as he falls asleep. He’s lying at an awkward injury thanks to the whole shoulder injury situation. Patty turns up music as Stan chooses his iconic song choice, _I Like Birds_ by the Eels because everybody knew, Stan really loved birds. Will glances at Mike who gives him a look that Will is unable to make out. Something about it feels like a subtle warning, which is weird. Bev and Ben are sitting close enough to play footsies with each other while whispering about something. The whole time her smile is so huge, it actually makes Will a little happier.

“Finally!” is really the last word said for a while, thanks to Patty when traffic really lets up so they can escape somewhere to look at birds and dinosaurs and weird car installations that Richie is apparently into. 

Then they were going to face something, something Will didn’t want to deal with. He didn’t even know this Bill. He sent a quick text to his sister because having someone around who is telekinetic would be a bonus and she is on that coast anyway. Will puts his phone off to the side. He sits up just for a bit to take Richie’s spare pair of glasses off and sets them off to the side where they will be safe before Will lies down and closes his eyes hoping to find sleep without nightmares, but there would always be the nightmares.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is like an end to "Part One." Some one with experience pls. let me know if I continue to put chapters here or connect it to like another "Work."
> 
> I don't know what I'm doing this is still a huge first for me and I'm like terrified.


	11. Interludes 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Would’ve gotten away with it to if it weren’t for you meddling kids and your demodog, too.”
> 
> “Excuse you, Rich, I supported you two.”
> 
> “They just met! They can’t just get married after meeting! Will doesn’t have divorce money.”
> 
> Quick overview before we meet Eddie again with some more supernatural issues. It's gonna suck and there's gonna be heartbreak, but for now there are smiles.

### Interludes with Mike Hanlon

First, I think I owe everyone an apology since you experienced an unscheduled silence on our behalf. This is due to the fact we sort of came across strange ghosts but stranger humans. Dealing with an actual human murderer is surprisingly harder for me and the faux Scooby Gang to deal with. Not to mention, we are up three members. Beverely and Ben Hanscom are joining us, some childhood friends of Stan and mine. Funny how we all always end up together. Then there’s also Richie “Trashmouth” Tozier who decided to tag along although I guess he should get some credit for basically, almost taking a bullet for our beloved Will Byers.

_“Word.”_

_“Who says word anymore?”_

_“Um me and the rest of the world in five days because I’m bringing it back.”_

Listeners, I wish you could see my dramatic eyerolls because I’ve perfected them since the re-entrance of Richie into my life. I also wish you could see the glare I just gave him as he sits all the way in the back of the van with Will Byers.

We were on our way to Maine when something came up. Will got a call from his sister who has some sort of ghost problem going on so it looks like we are making a spooky side trip to help his sister who is named Eleven for some reason. Whenever I ask him why her name is Eleven, he says it’s because he is one of eleven kids in his family, which I find hard to believe because Will snickers every time and that’s not his usual personality trait. I blame Richie Tozier who has ruined Will Byers, forever and ever.

_“SLANDER! I’ll sue you, Hanscom! Will was pretty fucked up when I found him.”_

_“No, that’s slander because that’s not true at all!”_

_“Both of you, stop, I’m in the middle of recording a podcast.”_

_“Ok, but it’s you’re own damn thought that. . .”_

Unseen right now is the perfectly great Will Byers who I love and respect putting a hand over Richie’s mouth so. . .nevermind, Richie just licked his hand and listeners, be prepared for future interruptions. They are coming.

_“Courtesy of the Trashmouth because I’m hilarious.”_

Keeping this short, keeping this short. Let’s think of this as a minisode. Listeners, as I was saying, I wanted to apologize for the absence. We have been traveling across this country taking time to ourselves looking for birds and strange roadside art installations. Had to stop a wedding at one point because let’s be real, Richie ruined Will. Will gets drunk with Richie and Will’s the one who takes Richie to some quick wedding chapel in the seedy outskirts of Las Vegas.

_“Would’ve gotten away with it to if it weren’t for you meddling kids and your demodog, too.”_

_“Excuse you, Rich, I supported you two.”_

_“They just met! They can’t just get married after meeting! Will doesn’t have divorce money.”_

According to Will, his eleventh sibling is dealing with trouble at a lighthouse in Cape Henlopen. One first built back during the American Revolution, which means plenty of space for ghost stories. I imagine a lot are collected there. An old watchtower was also left behind there, one from World War II, which adds an additional side to this story. Abandoned buildings are a bit too terrifying in my opinion, and as of now I’m unsure if we are headed towards a ghost issue or a monster issue. I’m glad it won’t be the Jersey Devil we’ll have to worry about seeing we won’t be in that waste of a state. 

For loyal listeners, please look at our Instagram. I’ve been posting pictures of us on this road trip so if you like to puke over cute couples, please prepare yourselves for Patty and Stan, Ben and Bev and then if you want to feel better about yourselves you can see Will and Richie.

_“You fucking suck, man.”_

_“He just loves us so much, he doesn’t know how to convey it in nice terms.”_

Join us again in a few weeks, I plan on catching you all up on what we find in Cape Henlopen when it comes to meeting with Eleven Byers.

_“Hopper. Her last name is Hopper.”_

I plan on catching you all up after comes to meeting with Will’s sister in Cape Henlopen. Anyhow, it’s been real all. As always, I’m glad you could join our faux Scooby Gang as we travel across this country looking for what feels more like supernatural mischief at times than others. It’s more to collect stories and interviews of folklore and supernatural histories that are too often ignored. So thanks from me, Mike Hanlon, Patty and Stanley Uris, Will Byers and his. . .monster dog. 

“Also thanks from me, Beaverly, and Haystack.

This has been Interludes with Mike Hanlon and the Scooby Gang. And as always don’t go trip trapping over a bridge if there’s a troll underneath, that’s how you die.

_“Fuck you loyal listeners.”_

_“Beep, beep, Richie!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like I needed to move forward and don't know if I should like write out little scenes of their road trip or really of Richie x Will. So I guess if ppl want something like that let me know?


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Enter Eddie Kaspbrak**

Bev, she just gets this way sometimes whenever she’s left alone. Ben tries to calculate how long he was gone to get coffee and pastries from the cafe. It’s pretty cold out but she’s out at a little round table outside the cafe watching the waves move along a beach. All the beach grass out there looks as if it's about to die. All brown and about to disintegrate. Nobody is out on the beach, which is nice. The only conversations are people walking past the cafe, usually someone walking their dog or taking a young child for a walk. Bev does watch one of the toddlers pass her. The toddler holds onto their adult’s hand while the toddler refuses to shut up about bubble gum. It’s a story about bubble gum, and not even the kid demanding for bubble gum. Meanwhile, their adult is also looking off at the waves as if the toddler isn’t speaking to them.

Ben comes up to her and speaks up so he doesn’t startle her when he sits down. “Penny for your thoughts? Or would it be a quarter now due to inflation?”

“Hmmm. . .I don’t know, I’d need an inflation calculator and knowledge of when that phrase was coined.” Bev laughs at her own joke. Ben would too, but for some reason he hides his smile from her. He looks at the table as he pushes a coffee towards her leaving the other to her. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Ben points at a bearclaw he got for her. “You just looked so sad for a second there.”

“Trauma does that to a person’s face.” Bev holds onto her coffee without drinking it. She intently stares at Ben across the table. “Ben, there’s something I’ve been really needing to talk to you about.”

Ben chokes on some coffee, it’s way too hot and burns his throat. To make the situation worse some shoots through his nose. He buries his face into the backs of his arms on the table. This is all too much. “Um yeah, talk about what, Bev?” he says into the table.

He feels her touch his head and peers over the backs of his hands at her. Her hair, still winter fire, but that felt stupid to say out loud in the moment especially since he has no idea what she wants to talk about. She is probably about to say something bad about how she needs some space or maybe she wants a divorce especially after the whole fiasco over how long somebody should know someone before getting married. Then there they were silent because the reality of the situation is. . .they didn’t really know each other, not for an extended period of time. Just a summer separated by 27 years of forgetting one another before meeting each other again for a short period of time. _Bev wants to go, Bev wants to go, Bev wants to go._ Ben sits up to hold onto his coffee cup careful not to destroy it in his tight grip.

Of course Bev is so, so, so quiet for what seems like an hour or two or five. She has the distant look on her face again until she says, “If I knew something weird or bad were to happen, would you want me to tell you?”

“Ominous, very ominous.” Ben starts to nod trying to pick apart those words. “I mean, yeah sure, but also I don’t follow.”

Another long pause courtesy of Bev, and it’s becoming a lot harder for Ben to not fill in the silence. Neither of them eat nor do they drink their coffee. “Ok, so you know how it seems like I just know things sometimes like back in LA, I was like we need to go to this crappy hotel or on the road I was like don’t go to that one bar tonight we should all stay in and it caught on fire.”

“Coincidences.”

“Shut up, you know that’s not true. Because now think about how I knew Stan wasn’t coming when we were all at the Jade of the Orient.”

“Go on,” Ben says rather than _coincidence_ during Bev’s next long pauses.

“Ok, have you noticed it’s been the same with Richie, sort of. I think it’s a little different. Like I can’t explain it like he just knows what people are about to say. Sometimes he’s literally finishing all of our sentences, it’s obnoxious or other times I swear him and Will are having like these telepathic conversations in the back of the van. There’s no way Richie is really being _that_ quiet.”

Ben waits a bit this time when she allows for a dramatic pause. “Ok, so I hear you but Richie is also really fucking weird and so is Will.”

This comment receives an unnecessary over-exaggerated eye roll, which does get Ben to stop. Bev goes on, “So I thought I should look into this Will Byers, I mean have you seen his dog?”

“Yes, I have because we’ve been in the same van for about a month.”

“Shut up, Ben, it was a rhetorical question.”

“That. . .that was the joke.” Ben tries not to laugh and signals for her to go on.

“Fine. What I’m trying to say is that he calls his dog Dart 2.0, which must mean there was an original Dart meaning more than one monster dog so I looked up where he kept saying he’s from and found some pretty crazy stuff. Just hold on a sec.” Bev pulls out her phone to show some articles she screencapped. “In 1983 he goes missing and some girl also goes missing around the same time, but is later announced dead. Meanwhile for Will, well, they find his body, but it turns out he’s alive the whole time? Crazier. So this zombie kid goes on living there with all these other strange things going on, there’s a lot of conspiracy theories about the government there abducting and experimenting on children like some MK Ultra stuff going on there. Also Russians being there like Soviet Union Russians doing similar things in their fucking mall.”

For a bit, Ben reads through some of the articles she screencapped or forum posts from some conspiracy crackpot website. When he hands the phone back to her, he touches the backs of her hands and looks at her. “Bev, I don’t think I understand what you’re getting at here.”

“So, I don’t know.” Bev looks back through the articles. “I really don’t know, I think what I’m trying to say is that I just somehow know _things_ and I know there are some strange things revolving around Will, and I don’t know what to make of it, but before we get here things are about to get very strange and dramatic. And some of it will be his fault. Our future is bad.”

Still holding onto Bev’s hands, he looks her in the eye. “Bev?”

“What?”

He actually smiles. “Please never be this creepy or weird again.”

“Ok, but hear me out, New Kids on the Block. You’re not going to like the weird that’s about to happen in like three or four minutes. Just you wait and see.” 

With that, she pulls her hands away to point at the street corner next to the cafe. Ben sits there looking with her while nothing, nothing, nothing happens. Somewhere a child runs across the beach screeching while someone chases after them begging them to stop. Ben almost focuses on them instead, but Bev pushes his attention back to the corner to watch nothing, nothing, nothing happens. It’s strange how long 60 seconds is when something is about to happen.

Then Ben realizes what Bev meant. Neither of them get a chance to get the first word in. Nope, not at all because the moment Eddie Kaspbrak rounds the corner walking a dog he shouts, “Holy shitballs!” 

He stops staring at them, doesn’t move closer while the dog makes an attempt to go one. It’s one of those shiba inus or something. Bev gives him a little wave while Ben gawks at Eddie, yeah so Bev had a real good point on the whole not liking the weird about to happen. Eddie does come closer. He stands at their table staring at the two of them.

“What are you guys doing here?” he snaps catching the attention of a few other people around them. Eddie’s always loud, he seems a lot louder when everything else is quiet.

Ben shrugs, takes a sip of his coffee. “Oh because Bev says coincidences don’t exist.”

“Shut the fuck up. Really guys, why are you here? This is weird and we’re used to weird.”

It’s Bev’s turn. “Better question, what are you doing here?”

“I live here now. I mean, not really live-live here. I’m house sitting for someone during the divorce. But what are you doing here? And I want a better fucking answer than Ben’s.”

Only Ben is stuck on something else. “Divorce?”

“None of your business until you answer my whole dang question of _what are you guys doing here_?” Eddie grabs a seat from one of the tables and sits down holding tight to the dog’s leash who curls up right by his feet.

Rather than provide an answer, Bev and Ben both give each other a look.

“It’s not just you two? Right? Is Richie here? And like. . .Stan and Mike?”

Ben and Bev continue to just stare at each other attempting to communicate with their silence. Ben breaks the moment by looking at Eddie. “We’re here to. . .”

“Watch the horseshoe crabs mate,” Bev finishes, which is not even close to what Ben was gonna say, it’s even obvious by his look of surprise. “I just love. . horseshoe crabs. . .mating.”

“I literally don’t even know what that is.” Eddie stands up. “Alright then, see you never again.” He doesn’t leave though, he continues to stand staring at them forcing them to look anywhere but his face. Bev looks down at the dog who looks up at her. “He’s not my dog, he belongs to the people who I’m house sitting for, his name is Tim the Enchanter.” Still none of them speak. “You can. . .come over tonight if you want.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah sounds. . .great,” both Bev and Ben say in unison. They give each other _that_ look again causing Eddie to groan. Ben looks over at Eddie. “Actually, we already had some plans to eat so you should join us there, all of us. . .”

“All of us?” Eddie does some weird hand throw almost losing the Tim’s leash. It’s really him angrily signalling for them to say more or really specify one fact. _All of us as in also Richie?_

“Yeah. . .all of us. . .and then some. . .” replies Bev with a sigh. “I think Mike said something about us meeting at the lighthouse. We’re visiting somebody so join us around six?”

Eddie nods, “Cool. And um again, all of us implies who exactly? You know, just curious for reasons.”

“Mike, Stan, and his. . .wife,” adds Ben looking at Bev who nods. “Then Richie, a dog, and um some guy named Will Byers who is friends with Mike and Stan and only Mike and Stan and his wife, also his wife. Patty. Will is friends with Mike, Stan, and Patty.”

“Why did you just say that three times?”

“For luck.” Ben smiles and nods in Eddie’s direction even though he is looking at Bev.

“Um ok then. I reiterate the whole too weird thing and go now. So bye.” Eddie starts to walk away looking back at them nonstop. He has a lot of other questions mainly about Richie and why a lighthouse. There’s two of them. _Crap._ “Which one?”

“The haunted one,” Bev replies.

Eddie tosses his hands up doing some spirit fingers. “Yay! Ghosts!” And he leaves the two of them to stare at each other again.

As soon as Eddie is out of sight, Ben and Bev look at each other speaking in unison. Bev says, “I told you,” while Ben says “You’re right.” It’d be funny if it were any other time. Bev sighs and starts to drink her coffee ignoring the fact it burns.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls keep paying attention to me because we're getting towards my favorite parts I imagined of heartbreak, drama, and probably terror.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Weird because like you and me both on the whole destroyer of worlds and eater of children thing.”
> 
> “Perfect! I say we start with Pluto and put it out of its misery for being rejected.”
> 
> Will says his comment way louder than he intended, “I’d rather destroy Uranus.”

Some random Elliott Smith song is on Richie’s mind as he looks out a store front window at Will who is waiting for his exit. Dart 2.0 is all curled up beside Will and somehow on a leash. Whoever is behind the counter at the store speaks up. It takes him a moment to remember he is the _sir_ she is referring to as she asks, _Is that all sir?_ Richie looks back at her. A single pack of cigarettes with some cheap pink lighter sits there and he reaches into his pocket for his card. 

“Um no, could you. . .” he looks at the candy along the counter and picks up a Three Musketeers bar. “This, too.” The person looks confused as she rings it up. Richie’s best guess is, who eats that as a favorite candy bar. He hands her his card offering no comment other than a “Hey thanks.”

“No problem, sir?” she responds.

Richie tucks the cigarettes into his back pocket and grabs the candy bar then heads out to Will. The moment the door shuts behind him, he starts to hum the sound stuck in his head all loud and clear for Will to hear, _Waltz, No. 2 (XO)_ by Elliot Smith. Richie tosses the Three Musketeers at him, but at least Will catches it right before Richie pretends to dance closer to him. He wraps his arms around Will’s waist and kisses him on the forehead.

“Look, I got you a present for your birthday,” Richie says.

“So it’s not my birthday,” replies Will looking at it. “Also, I’m pretty sure nobody likes these.”

“Shut up, if nobody likes them then why do they make them.” Richie grins as he continues to hold onto Will who still has a bad habit of looking at the ground whenever he blushes. It’s pretty much every time Richie comes too close resulting in a no lights rule at times.

Richie continues to hum the same song as he attempts to get Will to dance with him like they’re at some grade school dance. Will still hides his expression by looking at the ground. He taps Richie’s shoulder over and over again. “Stop, people are gonna look at us.”

“I have this new rule where I say let them.” Richie laughs. He still hums but is unable to get Will to dance after all. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” mutters Will. He looks back up at Richie for the first time. “Ready to go meet my sister and mom?”

“I thought this was only like a meet the sibling thing and not a meet the parents kind of thing.”

“Met the parent, it’s singular.”

Richie squeezes Will’s cheek and kisses his other one. “Whatever you say, Mac Attack.” Richie releases Will and ushers him to move along. “Lead the way.” He takes Dart 2.0’s leash and the two start to walk while he lights a cigarette, much to Will’s disappointment, not that Will says it out loud. They know. Richie can hear it.

“My mom her name is Joyce and my sister you can just call her El, short for Eleven.”

“What about the nine other siblings?”

“What are you talking about?”

Richie continues to hum his Elliot Smith song. “Nothing. Just you telling Mike you’re one of eleven.”

“Oh, yeah. Shit.” Will starts to laugh and tucks into himself, looking at his toes rather than at Richie again. “Just start with remembering the two of them toda. . .”

A scream interrupts Will causing him to look up to see a terrified woman in front of him. She and another women stand there holding onto small purple weights in their work out gear. Richie looks at them and drops his cigarette on the ground stomping it out. “Oh no worries, it’s our oversized corgi in a costume.” While looking at them, another back thought enters his head: _Puuush_. He can already feel exhaustion beating behind his brow while staring at the two women who stop screaming while looking down at Dart 2.0. Still he thinks _push_. “His name is D'Artagnan 2.0.” _Push_.

The woman reaches out about to pet Dart 2.0, but Will grabs her by the wrist. “He doesn’t like to be touched.”

Still Richie squints at them thinking _Push_. “We’re training him for a movie set, it’s why he’s all dressed up.” Richie kneels down beside Dart 2.0 without petting him but comes close. “What a star.”

The women giggle before taking off and Richie stays kneeling there. He touches his face rubbing his forehead hoping for a quick relief. Will touches his shoulder and Richie looks up gripping Dart 2.0’s leash. Will helps him back up to his feet. Even though Richie has stopped humming, the song continues wrapping all around them. His thoughts are too loud as per usual, not that Will cares. Richie’s brain, his very own mixtape except the song skips on occasion in this moment.

“Ah thanks, Macaroni.” Richie sighs leaning into Will for support. “How do you even do that?” Still close to one another, Richie is practically leaning on Will for full support while they walk with one another.

Richie chuckles keeping the leash wrapped around his hand. “Oh so this is pretty fucking nuts. So this one time in Derry, this thing happened to me between this destroyer of worlds and eater of children, and to be clear, I mean nothing inappropriate happened between us. Anyhow, I guess I now can destroy words, which is pretty sick.”

Will holds onto Richie’s hand poking his fingers into the palm of Richie’s hand. His pace picks up a tiny bit to lead the way for them to go on and meet his mom and El. “Weird because like you and me both on the whole destroyer of worlds and eater of children thing.”

“Perfect! I say we start with Pluto and put it out of its misery for being rejected.”

Somebody else screams at the sight of Dart 2.0. Richie rolls his eyes looking at them without a comment this time just thinking _push_ because Dart 2.0 is an oversized corgi in a flower costume not some monster dog. _Push_. They walk past them. Will bites on his lower lip while thinking through a comment as he waits for the person to be gone. The three of them turn to walk down a small street. Will really wants to be alone when he opens his mouth at another attempt to be hilarious leaving Richie to hum his song.

Will says his comment way louder than he intended, “I’d rather destroy Uranus.”

Richie stops gawking at Will, overreacting all on purpose. “WILLIAM!” he shouts. Will reaches out ready to stop him from shouting but Richie licks Will’s palm. Every. Single. Time. Richie leans to the side away from Will’s hands even though Will wipes his one off on his pant leg. At least, Richie lowers his voice whispering, “That’s inappropriate! You clean your mouth out with some soap.”

“M-Make me!” Will stands there actually looking at Richie, blush and all.

Again, Richie shouts, “WILLIAM BYERS!” He pauses lowering his voice to a whisper for dramatic effect, “That’s a really weird kink you have.”

“Beep, beep, Richie.”

Richie is about to kiss Will but they’re interrupted by somebody fake coughing to distract Richie. He looks over at a woman who stands there with pretty short brown hair, it’s wavy and curls into her face. She has a crooked smile while looking at the two of them. She crosses her arms over her chest while tapping her one foot.

“Will. . .you have some explaining to do.”

And Will takes some pretty large steps away from Richie pretending the two were never about to kiss or flirt or anything along the sorts. “Rich, this is El. El this is Rich Tozier. I um texted you about him.”

El continues to smirk while looking at the two of them. She puts her hand out towards Dart 2.0 who sniffs at her hand. She nods at Richie, “Bitchin’.”

“Not sure if that applies to the situation, but cool, nice to meet you.” Richie reaches out to shake her hand, but she doesn’t take it. Just stands their smirking at them with her arms crossed. “You’re a charmer.”

“Great to meet you,” El says before she moves toward a small house in the cul de sac.

Meanwhile, Richie leans closer to Will whispering, “Is your family in the know of the whole demodog thing?”

“Yeah, she’s the reason to why the portal I told you out opened in the first place.”

“Neat, but also not neat.”

Dart 2.0 follows El super close and they enter the house. There’s the clashing of dishes and pans as Joyce stands in the kitchen putting stuff away. El walks right in taking a seat at a table in the middle of the kitchen. Another woman is there with a lion’s mane worth of red hair. She’s drinking an IPA while picking at a cheese platter sitting on the table.

Richie looks at them. “I hope you’re here and queer.”

“Ew,” mutters the red head.

“Max?” Will says to her.

“Yeah, surprise, it’s me, Zombie Boy.” Max turns her attention to Richie. “And this is?”

“Rich Tozier.” Will again does his whole look at the ground move.

“Oh shit, I’ve seen him on TV.” Max talks while pointing at Richie. “He’s not hilarious.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment seeing I’m a dramatic actor.”

“But you’re not,” Will corrects.

Richie dramatically clutches his chest like he’s about to perish of a heart attack. “What? You’re all ganging up on me? Tragic. You all super suck.”

Joyce stops to look at them. “Welcome back, Will and hi Richie. Glad we finally get to meet you. Will has been telling El a lot who has been telling Max who then tells me.”

“Whisper down the lane is a dangerous game,” Richie whispers to Will. “I bet they think I suck.”

El sits there picking at the food on the table. “We do.”

“Knew. It.” Richie grabs onto the cheese platter pulling it closer to himself and away from the two. Max goes to hit his hand, but Richie is too fast. He stands there smirking at them while eating a slice of cheese. “I do want to make it very, very clear I’m open to viewing any and all embarrassing photos of Will.”

The whole time Joyce is there smiling way too big at them. She wants to hide her smile, but it’s pretty hard. It’s Will’s smile while he looks at Richie who is too damn busy looking at the cheese to notice any of them. He picks at it choosing a few slices right before Max slides it back in her direction while squinting at him.

“Maybe you’re alright,” Max says while eating cheese.

El watches Richie the whole time before announcing, “Something is wrong with you?”

This time when Richie points at himself, he’s not dramatic about it but legit confusion. He looks over at Will for some help except El shut everyone up with her words. Richie returns his attention to her waiting for a better explanation to the whole: _Something is wrong with you_. There’s a splintering crack in the tune in his mind. Everybody in the kitchen flinches even though only Will gets it.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” El asks. She’s onto something. She rubs the side of her head while examining Richie from across the table.

Even though Richie just met everyone, he goes into their fridge, which gets an eyebrow raise out of Joyce while she looks at Will who shrugs. Richie pulls a beer out and uses the counter to snap the bottle cap off without an opener. “Trauma does that to a person,” he says before taking a huge swig.

“I didn’t mean it that way. You are different in a different way.”

“Descriptive,” Richie almost chokes on his beer.

“You could say that again,” mutters Will and Richie finishes his beer. Will grabs the empty bottle. “You defy physics.”

“No, I don’t think chugging does that, but sure.”

Will changes the subject to what’s important or the reason to why they’re around. “What about the ghost in the lighthouse?”

This causes Max to roll her eyes and El to frown. Joyce is too happy seeing Will happy that she doesn’t even react and Richie takes way more cheese from Max while humming his little song. Will looks at him, for him this whole time though the song is more than a hum but something he can feel lingering in the air between them. He figures El can too wishing Richie would move onto a different song, one not so sad and sweet at the same time, but one of those obnoxious songs he listens to on repeat. Richie looks at him smiling even though his mouth is full of cheese. 

The tune changes to _Just Like Honey_ by The Jesus and Mary Chain, one of three quiet songs they agreed upon whenever Richie’s thoughts gradually become louder and louder to the point it’s impossible for anyone else to think or really just Will. Nobody else seems to notice. Richie smiles at Will the whole time El and Max talk filling them in. It takes a lot for Will not to look back at Richie, someone needs to pay close attention to them and there’s no way Richie is ready to listen but if Will has learned anything so far it’s that Richie is never ready to listen but at least he collects over half of what is said at any moment, on a good day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know if you'd still like to read and if this is all cool. It'll be very Richie x Will and Reddie soon because I like drama, I hope you like drama. Still send some help or comments because honestly I've never written fanficion before and am still confused.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Losers discuss whether they should feed Richie Tozier to birds or throw him out to avoid some Reddie drama.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next after this the actual Reddie drama. Thanks for staying with me (if you are) otherwise pls continue to stay with me because it'll make me happy. ^_^

_He thrusts his fists against the posts and still insists he sees the ghosts_. It’s stuck in Mike’s head. He has to still insist that ghosts exist, which is stupid because he’s seen enough ghosts to not continue this internal argument.

Mike takes the typical lead when it comes to research. Well, him and Patty were the best at research while Stan took his time at any library to learn more about birds. He sits at the same library table as them sketching local birds in a notebook with little info notes beside his birds. Patty peers at his work and smiles. 

“You’re getting better.”

Stan looks up at her smiling, “Thanks.”

“You’re too cute, stop it.” Mike is buried in his research, he has a laptop set up, a camera is sitting on the table, and he is looking at a series of newspapers he requested before they arrived at the library. “I’m trying to focus over here.” Mike starts to type away on his laptop adding information to a spreadsheet he is building before using his camera to take photos of the clippings sitting in front of him. “Looks like we’ll be dealing with a child murder at the lighthouse.”

Stan says nothing as he continues to sketch birds into his notebook. This leaves Patty to direct her attention to what Mike is looking into. “Do you think that’s what Will wants us to look into?”

“Yeah, seems like the main issue there in all of this. That and some sightings of a deep diver ghost who I hope we never see so I’m gonna pretend I never heard about him.” 

“Because a child murderer is better than some guy in a diving suit?” Patty almost laughs.

“Sooooo I’m going to side with my wife in this whole ordeal here.”

“I don’t know, I said old deep diver so he’d be in one of those scary suits.”

“Ok but what if instead the child murderer is in that suit?” asks Patty.

Mike sighs closing his eyes and starts to say “Erase, erase, erase that image from my head.” When he opens his eyes he makes some notes in his spreadsheet. “Erased. And now who wants to call Will?”

Still Stan sketches even though he speaks up at the same time. “Nobody. Will is introducing Richie to his mom and sister. We’ll talk to them later when we all get dinner.”

“More reason to call Will.” Mike pushes the clippings to the side to look through more information. “Am I right or am I right?”

“No, you’re wrong,” replies Stan who still sketches birds, but he puts his pencil down to look up at Mike. “Let them be happy for a change, I mean how many times have you ever seen Will smile?”

Mike sighs. “Um, never. But also we’re talking about Richie here.”

Patty grumbles some nonsense and pretends to page through a local history book before she says a little louder, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

This has Mike’s full attention and Stan’s, but Stan is much better at pretending he’s not paying attention. “He’s just. . .I don’t know, Richie ‘Trashmouth’ Tozier?”

“And?”

Mike actually sits there for awhile really considering the question Patty rises. His phone goes off before Stan’s also rings. He looks at them seeing Bev’s name pop up on his and Stan’s. Something is up in the world for the Losers. He doesn’t touch the phone though and inputs more information into his spreadsheet before closing his laptop to look at them.

“He’s. . .it’s not that he’s selfish, but he has issues. He’s a person who needs to work on himself before draining whoever happens to fall in love with him.” Mike starts to slip his laptop away into a protective sleeve. “Will is a person who is already worked on his issues and is in the process of healing. I don’t want Will to return to being the Will we used to know, I like this Will, but also I’d like Richie to grow up a little. He needs to stop deflecting and figure out how to take care of himself.”

Patty looks at Stan who avoids eye contact with her. “Well, I think you’re wrong.”

“How so?” It’s Mike’s turn ask the questions even though he’d prefer to talk about some ghosts.

“I don’t think you know the real Rich and nor does Stan nor I or anybody else for that matter. For a person who won’t shut up, he sure is a private person and I think Will gets that. I think it helps that Will is also a private person.”

“What about Eddie?” Stan interrupts.

Mike wants to say the same, but it’s not like Patty knows Eddie. But Mike is there looking at the text he got from Bev. He says the same comment but a whole lot louder. “What about Eddie?” Mike holds up his phone so Stan can see.

Stan says it again, “What about Eddie?”

“Ok, but who is Eddie?” Patty asks.

“Some loser we used to know,” Stan whispers as he looks at his text. 

Patty doesn’t need to be a Loser to guess by their reactions. “Oh shit. What about Eddie?” Nobody has a lot to offer when there is a lot to be said more on Mike’s side than Stan’s or at least, that’s Mike’s first thought while Stan avoids looking at anybody and looks at his feet. His biggest secret is some crush on Richie that existed so long ago but one he feels bubbling up on occasion. Meanwhile, Mike thinks of Eddie and a time Eddie thought of Mike as a confidant. 

_It was a quick moment in time when they were all caught up in the immediate aftermath of Pennywise. Mike stopped by Eddie’s hospital room to say bye one last time especially since Richie ran off. Just like that, Richie was gone without a single word on where he went when Myra showed up. Mike knocked on the door smiling at Eddie._

_“Um guess I’ll see you again in twenty-seven years. . .” Mike didn’t walk into the room._

_Eddie packed up his clothes. He stopped holding up his one shirt covered in blood with a huge hole in the middle. He poked his fingers through it and looked over at Mike. “Question, do you know where Richie went?”_

_Mike shook his head._

_“Are you serious?”_

_“Yeah.” Mike entered the room and sat down watching Eddie toss his bloody shirt out. At least, Myra was out of sight for the moment. “Why do you want to know where Richie is?”_

_The shirt stayed in the trashcan while Eddie stared at it. “Mike, can I ask you a private question?”_

_Mike’s response was closing the door. “Yeah? What?”_

_Eddie stared at Mike. “I think-I think I love Richie.”_

_“Wow, sorry to hear that,” replied Mike. He really had no idea where Richie went. None of them did. Richie hadn’t said a word to any of the Losers, and by the time they went looking for him his car and shit was all gone. “I don’t know where he is, sorry.”_

_“Bet he went back to LA.”_

_“Makes sense.”_

_Eddie nodded. “This sucks.” The door snapped opened with Myra returning to the room. _

Mike sits there looking at his phone wanting to respond but has no words. “So what do we do about Eddie and Will?”

“I say we kill Richie and feed him to some birds,” suggests Patty.

Only Stan laughs about this. “Can you imagine?” He instead sketches a little Richie looking at the birds he already sketched out on his page. Stan holds it up. “But he’s too skinny so he won’t taste good, flavorless for the birds.”

“At least, he has a great personality.” Patty laughs but Stan shakes his head. “What?”

“Personality doesn’t taste like anything. It’s all about the fat that adds taste.”

Mike finishes packing up. “We should go. Looks like Eddie will be joining us for dinner.”

“But not Richie, who will be eaten by birds. RIP Rich, it was nice knowing you.”

“Patty, birds aren’t actually going to eat Richie,” retorts Stan. She’s about to tease him saying it’s a joke but Stan isn’t done yet. “We just went over how birds won’t like how he tastes. We should throw him out in some trash can.”

The three start towards the exit of the library. Mike is holding tight to his bag. “I think you are all missing the point here though.” Stan and Patty wait for him to provide a much better explanation. “We have a perfectly good monster dog that would love to eat Richie. Have you seen the way, Dart 2.0 looks at him?”

“Dart 2.0 doesn’t have eyes, but I think you’re onto something.” Patty laughs at all this. They make their way out of the library. “At least, we can offer Will some good news about the ghost situation.” 

“Ok but does anybody know where Will’’s family is?” Mike asks. He attempts to call Will, but no answer and he attempts to call Richie, also no answer. “Just feel like they need a heads up?”

“Why?” asks Patty. “Hasn’t it been awhile since they’ve seen each other? You two are such drama queens.”

Still Mike shoots Will a quick text. **Please call me when you get the chance.** He tucks his phone away hoping Will will call back sooner or later as they make their way across the parking lot to the van. Mike holds the bag a little closer plotting out talking points for the podcast. There was a child who once lived in the lighthouse. It’s a typical start to a story. A couple who lived there struggled for a real long time to have their own child when someone could no longer take care of theirs. So they took the child in and it turned out, those people lied about their child. The child started quick on acting all weird and it escalated leaving a lot of death and pain in the child’s wake. Mike texts Richie, too. **Tell Will to call me when he gets the chance.**

Turns out Richie is super fast at responding to a text. **Shut the fuck up. We busy.See above text. Still busy. Go suck a dick.** Mike rolls his eyes showing the texts to Stan and Patty who laugh about it.

“Ok so Rich is kind of a jerk who I look forward to tossing into a trashcan,” Patty says while handing the phone back to Mike who puts it in his back pocket. “Mike, it’s not your problem, it’s theirs. Let it go.”

Point taken. Mike smiles and nods, it’s not important enough for him to give it his all. Instead, he sits in the driver’s seat ready to take off to the lighthouse. A good mystery is ideal. It would let Mike focus on different issues in life than the people around him wanting to partner up.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Reddie angst/drama commences.

Eddie, Bev, and Ben are all waiting outside the lighthouse. They ended up being the first to arrive, which feels like a mistake. The three stand around chatting with one another. Eddie keeps looking back at the lighthouse.

“So you hunt ghosts now? Is it because cosmic evils weren’t good enough for you?” asks Eddie.

“Good statement but I would argue, where do we go after something like that?” replies Bev. “Most of our lives secretly revolved around that whole issue so why not ghosts?”

“I like buildings,” states Ben as he admires the lighthouse.

“Neat, that’s perfect seeing that you’re an architect,” is Eddie’s response. “Your life is buildings and Bev.”

“Just want people to be aware I would prefer to be elsewhere with Bev of course.”

“How’s married life treating you?” Eddie changes the topic and sits down on a step in front of the lighthouse.

The two don’t have the chance to speak up because the van pulls up with Stan, Patty, and Mike climbing out. Patty waves at them and walks straight over to Eddie putting his hand out, but Eddie doesn’t take her hand. Instead, he just stares at her hand and looks up at her.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” 

“Patty Uris.” Still, she holds her hand out waiting to shake his hand.

“And?”

Stan comes up beside Patty and leans into her a bit. “That’s Eddie, he’s scared of everything so don’t mind him. He’s not into all the germs on your hand.”

Patty looks at her palm. “Oh yeah, good call. I usually don’t wash my hands after using the bathroom.”

“What a charmer.” Eddie smiles at them.

“What’s going on with you, Eds?” asks Stan.

“Not you, too, don’t call me that. Oh and everything is fucking terrible. Getting divorced, I’m stuck with a dog who eats his own shit, and now I have to see all of your faces again so considerably worse.” And yet Eddie smiles the entire time. “How are you all doing?”

“_Great_,” responds Mike. “Where’s the other two?”

Bev shrugs. “Obviously not here yet.”

“So we wait,” adds Ben.

Eddie raises his hands doing spirit fingers. “Yay, waiting.”

###

Richie stands outside the house stretching his one arm wrinkling his nose at pain that pops up. Behind him the door opens and he turns around to see Will leaning into the doorframe smiling at him. Richie smiles back with nothing to say. Some would call it a rare moment, but not at all. The problem was more that his brain was so loud so much of the time and somehow those words find their way out of his brain and into the real world. Also there was a weird issue of just too much energy, always bursting inside of him. Loud brain. High energy. Trashmouth. Unhealthy coping mechanisms.

“What?” Will asks with a little laugh.

Richie returns to stretching out his one arm. “Nothing, just thinking about the time I took a bullet for you.”

“Barely! It just grazed you, we weren’t in any real danger.”

“You don’t know danger!” Richie laughs releasing his arm.

Behind Will, El steps out muttering, “No, you don’t know danger.”

“Oh wait, just because you fight monsters from your upside down doesn’t mean my life challenges don’t exist!” blurts Richie, he laughs the whole time but El doesn’t find this funny nor does Joyce or Max who have joined them all at the same time.

“You told him?” asks Max. “That’s not fair. Anybody wanna remember all the trouble I went through?”

Will and Richie both smile at each other. Will steps forward letting everybody out of the house so Joyce could close up behind him. “We are all adults now,” Joyce says.

“He has some secrets of his own,” adds El.

“Glad, I’m the only petty one here.” Max takes off in the lead. They’re not too far from the lighthouse. It’s within walking distance. “Is Dart 2.0 coming with us?”

Richie and Will move together after them. Their elbows touch one another and Will stares at the ground while they move together in a whole group. _I’m hungry,_ Richie states in his head looking over at Will who of course refuses to look up. Richie pokes one of Will’s belt loops.

_Richie! We're on our way to get food!_ replies Will.

_But hear me out. . .ice cream_. Richie keeps a finger looped through Will’s pants except El comes up between them pushing them away from one another.

El continues to walk between the two of them and says out loud, “I hear you both.”

Joyce and Max stop to give them a look. El grins while she continues to walk between the two of them. Richie returns to being a little quieter than usual but with a ridiculous song looping through his mind. El rolls her eyes as she is stuck listening to _The Bad Touch_ by Bloodhound Gang. Richie gives her a pointed smile with it and she walks a little faster to catch up with Joyce and Max.

“What’s she talking about, Will?” Joyce asks.

“Nothing,” replies Will who actually does look right at Richie this time around. End of out loud conversation with them. _Fine ice cream, but you have to get it._

“I want a banana split,” El says.

“I’m not getting ice cream for you, I don’t even know you.”

Max whips around to face Richie causing him to stop. He almost collides with her and leans back too startled. “_That’s_ Will’s sister so you’ll get her a banana split.”

“One banana split,” replies Richie.

Max smiles and starts to walk a little faster and Joyce tries to calculate what’s happening at the moment. “Wait, wait I’m so confused. What’s happening right now?”

_Vanilla ice cream cone dipped in chocolate_, Will tells Richie.

Max and El look at each other giggling. Max may be out of the loop, but she’s figured out how to play along over the years. Max looks at Joyce filling her in. “Tozier here is going to get some ice cream for us, do you want anything?”

“No. . .we’re about to go eat. . .” replies Joyce. “Wait, how did you know? What’s going on? What’s going on, Will?”

“Mind reading,” says Will.

“Upside down?” asks El.

Max casually speaks up offering up something for the hell of it, “Shining.”

“One banana split, one cone dipped in chocolate, and whatever I decide to get.” Richie gives Max and El an annoyed thumbs up. “Anything for you, Mrs. Byers?”

“Ms. Byers,” Max corrects.

But Joyce shakes her head. “You should really just call me Joyce.”

“Whatever you say, Ms. Byers.” Richie quickly turns to face Will kissing him real quick before slipping away from them. Richie walks backwards for a bit watching them. The three stand still for a bit before moving along. El and Max whisper something to each other and Richie is gone.

Even though Max and El move on towards the lighthouse. Joyce watches Will who keeps looking after Richie even though Richie is very much gone. When Will looks back at his mom, she smiles and says, “What a strange, strange man.”

“Yeah.”

“Guess it works because you’re also a strange, strange man.” Joyce laughs at her own joke. She starts to walk beside Will. The two go to catch up El and Max. Still Joyce is there smiling at Will. “Well, I’m happy for you, but at some other time, I think we need to discuss the whole mind reading thing.” Will chuckles looking at his feet as they all made their way to the lighthouse.

###

Eddie checks his phone. “Looks like Richie is late. Figures.”

“Nobody said Richie was coming,” Stan says.

“Bev and Ben did,” Eddie replies.

Stan and Mike give Bev and Ben a dirty look. That isn’t the information they were ready to share, but looks like it doesn’t matter. “Don’t know where Richie is,” Stan adds to the moment. “Someone just text him to meet us at the restaurant instead of here. There’s ghosts, I’m not ready for ghosts.”

El and Max reach the scene first, which puts the Losers on edge. El smiles at them and Max ends up speaking for her. “The ghost only comes out at night or so I’ve heard.” They stop and Will joins them with Joyce who has her arm around her son while the two of them chat with each other. Max points at El and continues to speak, “This is El.”

Then El points at Max, “This is Max.

“Hi, I’m Joyce, Will’s mom.” She releases Will to wave at everyone.

Introductions are all great, if they have context. Eddie raises an eyebrow then looks at each of the Losers while nobody has a comment. There’s the additional question of where’s Richie because it appears that he is going to be very, very late. He’s waiting for someone to fill in the blank space and Will provides his own introduction still sans context.

“Will.”

“Wow that’s all wonderful and all, but who the fuck are all of you?”

“That’s the Will I told you about earlier,” Ben announces garnering some real dirty looks from Stan and Mike. Bev groans burying her face in her hand. “The one who is Mike’s and Stan’s friends.” El looks like she is about to say something so Ben says it again really loud. “WILL IS MIKE’S AND STAN’S FRIEND.”

Eddie nods. “So this is all weird. I don’t like weird.”

One last time Ben says, “Will is Mike’s and Stan’s friend, that’s how we know Will.”

“Yeah, thanks, I didn’t understand what you meant the first two times there.”

There is nothing to prepare the Losers and friends for what happens next. No time in between the awkwardness as Richie returns handing off a banana split to El not noticing Eddie. He’s a bit busy looking at El.

“For the creepy sister,” Richie says as he turns around to face Will smiling at him. He bites the top off Will’s ice cream before handing it to him with another cone in his hand. “And. . .” Will never gets a good hold on the ice cream cone that Richie hands him, which is a problem because it hits the ground. Without really paying attention to the moment, Will instead reaches over taking Richie’s perfectly good ice cream. 

“What the fuck man, where have you been? We’ve been waiting for you?”

Except Richie says nothing while he continues to gawk at Eddie, his hand still out ready to hand off the now lost ice cream.

“Hey fuck you, Trashmouth, I’m talking to you! I’m out here, waiting in the cold, waiting to see you again and you’re fucking late and catatonic? Not a fucking hey or your mom joke?” Eddie allows time for a dramatic pause. “Oh shit. . .are you a clone?”

“Where’s my spoon?” asks El still holding onto the banana split. “I can’t eat without a spoon.”

Richie starts to take a few steps away from between her and Will while he stares at Eddie. There’s a roar building inside his head, a different sort of loud compared to usual. “Oh fuck, I’ll go get one.” Rather than continue a conversation, Richie whirls around and speed walks away from them, he doesn’t even head back toward the ice cream place but toward the beach. This leaves everybody behind exchanging award looks except for Will and El. Mainly because El is stuck with her banana split and no spoon. She licks it as if its an ice cream cone.

“He’s not coming back,” she announces in between ice cream licks. Again, nobody says anything even Eddie who is left just sort of standing there between all of them. El looks up at everybody. “What?”

“I’ll tell you later,” Max whispers to her before using her finger to scoop out some ice cream. She then looks back at the Losers. “So are we still going to eat?”

“_Max_!” snaps Joyce.

Everything clicks into place in Will’s mind. It’s when he looks back down at the ice cream and how it dropped because of this new person. Will looks up at Eddie. “Oh. Shit.”

Max isn’t about to let it all go. “I only ask because I’m hungry.”

“He has to come back at some point, right?” Bev asks.

It’s only Max who has a comment on the situation as a whole. “Who cares, I’m really hungry.”


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the near future someone is gonna get kissed in the rain, but for now pizza buffet (I miss that).

Mainly Max eats. They’re at some pizza buffet and she is the one getting up, grabbing pizza slices and returning to the table. She ate while everybody sort of just sat there unable to eat while also avoiding looking at each other. Or at least, almost everybody. Eddie stared at Will who had no issues with staring at the ground so El sat there glaring at Eddie in return.

“So where are you all from?” Joyce asks.

“Where are you from, Will?” replies Eddie.

El squints at Eddie. “Her question goes first.”

“Hawkins,” Will says anyway at the same exact time that Bev, Stan, and Mike say, “Derry.”

“Not Derry,” Ben and Patty happen to add in unison.

Patty looks at Ben. “Wait, really? Glad I’m not the only one unless. . .” she leans forward to look at Eddie. “You’re from Derry, too?”

Eddie though is still glaring at Will. “So you’re all from Hawkins? What’s Hawkins? Like where in the fuck is that?”

“Yes, but where in the fuck is this Derry?” replies El.

“Maine.” Eddie turns his attention to El. “And you’re from Hawkins? Not in Maine, so where?”

“The bad place,” says El.

“Um what does that mean? Like New Jersey?”

Will bursts out laughing interrupting the whole moment. “Yeah, Jersey, she’s from New Jersey and Max is from California, but we actually moved to Maine for a while and that’s the end of the story. Fun rehashing some childhood memories.” And Will stands up to grab some more pizza then deal with the conversation.

Max sits there busy eating her pizza but looks back at Will, “Hey more pepperoni for me.” Will gives her a thumbs up and is gone at the whole pizza buffet area. She looks back at everyone. “So _Edward_, that’s your name right or is it Eduardo?”

“Max,” says Joyce.

Before Eddie gives her a response, Max keeps up her end of the conversation. “So you’re like an ex or something, right?”

“No, I’m a person and not a letter.”

“Hey Eduardo! Your joke doesn’t even make sense.”

Their silence returns. Mike starts to count the seconds hoping to give it about thirty seconds before he opens his mouth to speak up changing the subject back to digging for more information. There are two angles to take one being a child murderer than someone who drowned while attempting to dive and rescue people from a shipwreck. Their diving suit was too large, it became wedged between the rocks and they drowned there or really suffocated. Meanwhile, everybody who was caught on the ship managed to make it to safety so it was all for nothing. Seems like a good reason to return as a ghost except Mike isn’t into the idea of wandering an old lighthouse listening to the heavy beat of footsteps from such a diving suit. Then again a child would be quieter and could easily sneak up on them for murder especially since that child was already a murderer, in life and death. A beautiful cycle.

Some odd thought about something from years ago strikes him, one of a small kid in a photograph, Bill’s little brother. He hadn’t even really known about the incident of Georgie’s death until much later, which is odd. You’d think child bodies piling up around town would catch everybody’s attention instead adults only suggested a curfew.

There’s a shudder that runs through all the electricity. Mike looks out the window of the pizza place to see some sort of storm is about to roll in. Will is at the window peering out at it. Joyce is watching him real close while nobody else seems to think anything of it.

So instead, Mike has to ask, “Is something wrong?” He’s looking at Joyce so she knows he’s talking to her. Although she is distracted still by Will standing at the window so Mike decides to circle back to that conversation because he turns his attention to El and Max. “You both work at the lighthouse?”

El raises her hand. “I do.”

“Interesting. How did you get into that line of work?”

“By accident.”

Mike smiles and nods. “Same, but for hunting weird stories.”

“I don’t think so,” replies El.

“Yeah, you’re probably right on that.”

Joyce still watches Will at the window. “Aren’t you at all worried about your friend still being out there?”

“Who?” Stan asks. “Oh wait, Richie is still out there.” He laughs, but nobody else laughs. Patty gives him an odd look because it really is a what the heck moment, but that’s always been Stan, odd. “Nevermind, but also, we should probably find Richie.” Stan turns to look out the windows. “Like we should really find Richie now, he doesn’t disappear often.”

“True,” mutters Eddie. He flings one arm up almost knocking over a soda in the process. “Check! Please!” One person on the waiting staff is walking by with a pitcher of water. They stop and look at them and then nod before moving away to bring water elsewhere. “How are we going to split this check? I vote Stan pays for it all, he’s an accountant, he knows money.”

“Not anymore. Now I bird and ghost watch.”

“Ok, but. . .”

Ben takes the check and looks at it instead of Stan. “It’d just split evenly if we put our cards in depending on how many they’ll take. Otherwise, anybody can pay me back later when you get cash.”

Eddie drops his card into the middle of the table and then Patty puts a card out stating, “For me, Stan, and Mike.”

Meanwhile, Joyce goes to put a card down but Max fights her beating her to the middle of the table. “That’s for me, Joyce, El, and Will.”

Ben nods drawing out the bill on the back of the check before handing everything off to the waiter.

Will stands at the window and Joyce gives El a little nudge signaling for her to move. El mutters something and instead plucks a napkin off the table and ties it around her face, covering her eyes leaving the Losers very, very confused.

“Soooooo. . .what the fuck is about to happen?” Eddie asks pointing at El.

“Ssssh!” El snaps.

“Let her focus!” Max also snaps causing El to reach out pushing her face back. “Everybody sssssh!”

“Um ok,” Eddie keeps talking. “But really what’s about to happen?”

Will returns to the table and pulls the napkin off El’s face. “I know where he is. Some of us are also talented.” 

“Yeah, Richie, not you.” El scowls at him while Max laughs in the background whispering an I knew it.

“You got me.” Will leans forward grinning at her before pulling some cash from his pocket. This leaves Eddie sort of just sitting there not looking at anyone trying to think through the words passing between these strangers. It had been all wadded up there. He drops it on the table looking over at Max. “Don’t worry, I got the tip.”

“Um Will, do you even know how much money that is?” snorts Max.

“Yes, Maxine, I gotta get out of here though.” Will backs up looking outside. There’s already fat raindrops plopping from the sky, the wind is about to pick up. Leaves and sand are whipping up striking the glass pane. When he opens the door it continues to swing open, thanks to the wind, but Will is gone. Doesn’t even have a raincoat or anything.

Eddie raises his hand real fast as the server walks by them. “I need plastic bags!”

They roll their eyes and return with a bunch of plastic bags and no comment. Eddie ties some onto his shoes before using some to wrap around his head attracting the attention of everybody at the pizza place, and really everybody. The server even stands there raising an eyebrow.

“What? Wet feet are bad for your health? Do you know what would happen if my feet are wet for a long period of time? I could get a cold, I could injure my skin and get blisters, and what if I get diabetes, that increases my chances of. . .” 

Ben and Bev make their way for the exit with Max and El following them. Joyce also takes off after them. Only Stan ends up waiting for Eddie to finish wrapping himself up in some plastic bags. Stan watches him the whole time. Eddie pauses to look up at Stan.

“What?”

“Thought you should know that wet feet don’t give people colds,” Stan says before he starts walking out.

“There’s always the chance for an anomaly!” Eddie shouts as he follows Stan. “And when you have a cold, I hope it turns into bronchitis and we’ll see who is complaining then.”

Stan holds the door open. It’s pouring by this point and he looks over to see the other Losers shouting RICHIE while following Will who doesn’t shout anything making a direct route somewhere. RIIICHIE! The wind is pretty loud. Nobody is outside. Eddie shields his face as he stomps around after them, it’s a real struggle with them on. Stan stays close occasionally reaching out ready to help Eddie up if he falls and Eddie knows it because sometimes he grabs onto Stan grumbling thank yous as he trudges on. Will is so far ahead they can’t make them out everybody else is up there and they all are still screaming RICHIE, but Eddie stops holding onto Stan’s wrist.

“Can I talk to you for a second?” he asks.

Stan chuckles, the plastic bag on his head is starting to droop into his face. “Yeah, but I won’t take you seriously.” He lifts the bag up a bit out of Eddie’s one eye. “This can’t be healthy either.” It’s raining way too much and Stan’s curly hair is an absolute mess. “It’d be funny if this is what kills you.”

“That’s a Richie joke if I ever heard one.”

“You’ve heard plenty. We, unfortunately, all have.”

“You boys coming?” Patty yells at them.

“Please never say it like that again,” replies Stan before he looks back at Eddie. “What were you saying?”

“Nothing, just that you’re the man Stan.” With this, the two start walking again. Stan smiles at him, but doesn’t push it. “Just glad you’re still around.”

Stan looks away from him and walks faster to catch up with his wife instead. “Same on the whole, I’m glad you’re still around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pls still send help because like I still don't know what I'm doing, but here I am. I'm having fun at least.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (Some cute shit is happening, maybe just to make a path to some. . .heartbreak)

Will arrives first back at the lighthouse and with his headstart, he’s glad he’s far in the lead. It also helps that the Losers don’t trust him yet in the sense of, he knew where to go because they are slow coming as they look around corners yelling RICHIE. He goes right up to the door opening it because somebody left it unlocked, which is good and makes sense. Without waiting for anybody else, he heads on up into the lighthouse. The lower level of the lighthouse is a literal _house_ and looks as if somebody threw up nautical theme everywhere. Maybe when all the seafood joints in town closed, they donated their decorations to this place. He goes to flip some lights on, but it looks as if the electricity is out. With each flick of the switch, nothing happens so Will uses his cell phone flashlight to make his way through the house portion and up into the bowels of the lighthouse where a curved staircase ascends upwards.

“Please don’t let there be any ghosts out right now,” Will whispers to himself. 

He closes his eyes for a second and calls out, _Dart 2.0?_ It’s as if the world turns for a split second and he’s back in a different house where Dart 2.0 is curled up on the couch after he ate half the cushions. Well, Joyce is gonna be mad at him. Maybe he’d see if there were any spare lighthouse pillows to cover up the mess. Dart 2.0 looks up at the lights, which slowly gain some power. Will opens his eyes returning to the stairwell inside the lighthouse and sprints up them, which is a huge mistake because he’s not a runner, never was.

By the top, Will is huffing and puffing trying to push himself the last few steps because his legs are begging for him to stop. Up there lightning cracks across the sky. Music plays as in actual music plays out loud while Richie is sitting on a bar with a case of PBR at his feet. He’s holding onto a can and listening to some music, _Under the Milky Way_ by The Church. Will is gradually recognizing his stupid choices in music. They’re always too mellow and mournful like all of Richie’s dreams were hit by an 18 wheeler truck. It’s a shame because Will had a feeling Richie once went for something a little more absurd.

“Why are you up here?” asks Will. “You missed dinner. We all agreed on dinner earlier.”

He doesn’t even startle Richie who looks over at him and has to squint because his glasses appear to be missing. “Ah shit, Macaroni, you caught me.” Richie puts both his hands up while still holding onto a beer can. Will joins him leaning into a bar with the giant light of the lighthouse behind them. “I came back and you were all gone and I tripped, which fucking hurt a lot. Scraped my whole knee up and I also broke my glasses so I figured that meant it was a perfect time to watch the sunset.”

Will looks out the windows at the ocean. The waves are super choppy as it continues to storm with lightning pelting the water. “Richie, there isn’t even a sunset right now. Also, if losing your glasses was a problem, who did you have time to go get beer and not join us for dinner? Remember, the dinner with my mom and my sister and my friend.”

“Oh shit, no sunset? Couldn’t tell. It just looks like a lot of blobs out there.”

“You could have called,” Will retorts.

Richie shrugs. “Yeah, but I can’t see to call.”

“But you could buy beer?”

“Not being able to see clearly and dialing numbers is super dangerous. What if I called up some old ex and she still happens to be obsessed with me? What would we do then?”

At first, Will has some other words he wants to say then doesn’t. Yet he’s sure Richie can hear them all because they’re so, so loud and clear in his head and his mind won’t stop buzzing for a change, it’s usually Richie’s brain, which sounds like someone shouting nonstop. Usually he lets his thoughts mosey their way through ideas for old Dungeons & Dragons games or other little things from his whole life. But there’s this subtle anger that is pinging around his mind while he sits there looking at Richie. “Ok, but like Siri is a thing so you could have done that because again, we were having dinner with my family and you bailed, but everything was fine earlier.”

“I stand corrected. I forgot to put my trust in Siri.” Richie reaches down handing him a beer but Will shakes his head. So instead, Richie puts it back and puts his down.

The most annoying fact is that Richie is up there, listening to music and silencing his actual thought behind other music that clashes. There’s some alternative 80’s or 90’s hits playing on his phone while some other song plays and just the chorus it self causes Will to bristle, which is such an odd thought. Like almost like he’s sitting there like a porcupine. _I’m Not in Love_ is the name of the song and the band Will has no idea. 

His thoughts have to be so loud because Richie looks down at his feet mumbling something more to himself than to Will. It’s obvious the anger or annoyance or whatever is building up too loud inside Will because his mind switches to a different channel like he hit next or skips to a new radio station as _Should I Stay or Should I Go_ by The Clash plays instead.

“That’s not even funny, and you know why, which makes it worse. You’re making everything worse.” Some back thought pops up, _You always make things worse._

An actual silence permeates through Richie’s mind, which is such a bad sign, his white noise. Will looks out at the storm. Everybody else is probably catching up about now. Richie hops off the bar and stands in front of Will. Richie awkwardly touches his face and Will tries to lean back, but Richie isn’t giving up. His one hand touches Will’s cheeks and his thumb presses into Will’s lips, and Will has no more space to lean back.

“What are you doing?” Will asks.

“I read somewhere that lips have more nerve endings than any other body part, which I don’t know about, but this-_this_ is supposed to be more pleasurable.”

“When you said you read this, did this happen to be at some point earlier today after you broke your glasses?”

“Wow! How did you guess?” Richie moves his hand and stands there touching Will’s face, covering his mouth. “I’m doing this wrong, aren’t I?” Will licks Richie’s palm and Richie continues to stay put shaking his head. “Um excuse you, that’s my move, find a new one.”

“Richie, I’m starting to think you know nothing of sex.”

Right away, Richie pulls his hand back. “What? You should know better than that. I’ve had plenty of sex, so much sex that I’m a sexpert.”

Will wrinkles his nose at the last word. “I don’t believe it.”

“Trust me, it counts even if it's just with yourself. Swear.”

“So. . .no, no you’re wrong. I’m gonna have to disagree with you on this and one day, I really hope you understand why. You don’t get to just care about yourself all of the time.”

Richie grabs onto the bar on both sides of Will attempting to lift himself up a bit, but he has no upper body strength and fails. He stands there distracted by Will’s smile. Not that a smile is rare, it's more the fact that Will is genuinely smiling while he looks up at Richie instead of the floor like that’s more attractive than Richie’s face. For some reason, Richie laughs and is almost without words for a moment. He has to look away for a second taking on Will’s role of no eye contact. A different song plays on his phone and in his head. When he looks back at Will, Will still smiles at him rather than the floor or his feet.

“I’m dedicating this song to you actually since you’re what, the boy who came back to life? Zombie Boy?” Richie tilts his head in the direction of where the music plays. “Get it, it’s called _I Fell in Love With a Dead Boy_.”

“So Richie, that’s plain rude.”

“Ah shit, I really gotta stop trying to read like magazines and stuff on this when everything is a blur.” Again he awkwardly pats Will’s face. “Even this is a blur, but I can at least make out your nice smile.”

Will pushes his hand away. “Ok, ok, but can we play this whole game another time? I’m still mad. I swear I’m still mad.”

“Yes! That means make up sex.”

“No, shut up, Richie. Let me talk.” Will grabs onto both of Richie’s hands and holds them down at his side. “What the fuck happened earlier? Why did you just run away like that then not say anything about it? Even right now you’re deflecting like your deflection skills are on crack right now.”

Of course, Richie’s smile disappears. Will continues to hold onto his hands even though he can feel Richie picking at the bottom of one of his shirts. A nervous tick. It’s this or he picks at his hands while looking for words. 

“Will. . .” he starts to say then stops for what seems like forever, his brain is back to its white noise not letting Will in for a change. Will has to wonder if maybe he was ever allowed to really get to know Richie. He’s a person with layers of obnoxious behavior and then someone else on the inside, still loud and obnoxious, but in a different sort of way. “Will Byers, would you be mad if I told you that I’m not ready to talk about it?”

“Yeah, wait, I mean, no as in no I would not be mad but like yeah, Rich, you don’t. . .tell me whatever is going on when you’re ready. If anybody knows anything about trauma, it’s me.”

“What? No fucking way because like, me, too.”

Will points at himself laughing as he mouths _Wow_.

“We have so much in common. We both have all these casual traumas and we both love my face.”

“You’re deflecting again.” Will smirks.

“Yeah, well, deflect you.” Richie leans forward kissing Will who is way too close to falling off the bar even with the whole light contraption behind him. He grabs onto Richie.

Somebody coughs interrupting them. They are on the top stairs. Will has to flash his light in their direction to see it’s Eddie standing on the first step. Eddie lifts a finger and is about to say something when instead he walks away down the steps.

“Weird,” says Will.

“Wait, was that the ghost? I like can’t see that far. . .and it’s dark so I’m excused.”

“One of your loser friends,” Will tells him. “We should go downstairs.”

“Excuse you, but they’re _Losers_ as in the proper noun form of that.”

“Do you even know what a proper noun is?”

“I don’t have to be proper to know what a proper noun is.” Richie grabs his case of beer and finishes his beer before collecting his phone. Will takes the one beer offered to him a bit ago. “I hope there’s candles because the power went out awhile ago. That or I have no idea what light switches are.”

“Do you think any ships are going to crash if there’s no light on?” Will asks.

Richie walks past him to the steps. “Don’t be stupid, ships went extinct years ago.”

Will flicks Richie in the back of his head as they make their way back to the house portion to join the rest of the crew. “Beep, beep, Richie.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst, broken hearts, El and Joyce are sick and tired of these boys, an f-ing ghost, and spooning.

Downstairs Joyce is lighting some candles with Max and Bev. They’re setting them all up. El rejoins everyone with an actual lantern. It’s buzzing and super bright adding a lot more to the scene. Eddie makes it back before Will and Richie, he leans into a wall attempting to pretend he’d always been there only to knock some painting of a fisherman off the wall. The frame splintered grabbing a lot of attention. Mike is standing there setting up all his podcasting gear for later. 

“Good one, Eds,” Mike says and returns to his equipment.

“C’mon! Nobody calls me Eds.”

“Since when?” announces Richie, he hops down off the steps into the house area. “Are you calling me a fucking _nobody_ because then wooooooow.” He still doesn’t have his glasses on, but Will is already off braving the storm to get to the van for Richie’s spare-spare pair. But really, Will wanted to be gone before anybody realized he had been with Richie the whole time. Richie walks straight across the room to Eddie and pinches his cheek. “You’ve looked better, Eds.”

“Yeah, well, you look like shit. . .without your glasses,” retorts Eddie swatting at Richie’s hand.

Richie lets go of Eddie’s cheek. “You are nothing but a blob, Eds, what the fuck happened to you?”

“I fucked your mom.”

Richie sighs leaning away from him. “Wow, we’ve been over this already. My mom is dead. But hey, your mom says hi on the other hand. Saw her again last night.”

“You sure about that? I could’ve sworn I heard you’re a little too gay for that?”

This time Richie steps away from Eddie. “Wow. Ok then.” He hoists himself up onto a table of decorations knocking those all over. They break. He looks down at them without a word.

“Stop breaking my stuff!” snaps El.

“Wait, this is your crap?” Richie asks.

“No. It was a joke.”

Richie laughs. “You’re priceless, El.”

Will returns handing off a little case and Richie pulls out his old pair, there’s still a crack through them from a year ago when they broke somewhere underneath Derry. Only Eddie really seems to notice, mainly because Richie sits there playing with them in what little light they have before putting them on. When Richie looks back at Eddie, Eddie looks away to watch Stan and Patty return to the scene with some drinks, it looks like they made some hot tea for the group.

“So what now? Do we sleep or hunt ghosts?” asks Patty the moment she steps back into their conversation.

“I vote sleep, it’s been a long day,” Richie is the first to speak up. “Sleep is good. I like sleep.”

Patty pours him some tea, but Richie puts up a hand lifting a beer for her to see. She holds it out to Will who takes it instead.

“I like sleep, too,” adds Eddie while he watches Will and Richie. “I fucking love sleep, I love sleep so much more than Richie so my vote has my weight like superdelegate sort of weight.”

“We’re not even voting on anything right now,” snaps Stan. To be honest, he’s not ready to be back with all of them or really to have both Richie and Eddie back together in the same room because they’ll never shut up. Individually, Stan enjoys hanging out with them, he always has.

“We are now. This is a democracy, Stan,” retorts Eddie and he looks at Richie. “I’ll take a beer.”

“Hm no,” replies Richie while drinking his.

“What the fuck? Why not?”

“Because fuck you man.”

“Fuck you!”

For some reason the two burst into laughter, and only laugh harder when Richie tosses him a beer. Eddie grins as he starts to drink along with Richie. Both keep to their perches.

“Yeah, I like sleep, too, but I’m more into sleeping in non-haunted locations.” Max offers up her own opinion, she raises her hand and all. A crack of thunder mocks her though. It’s getting worse out there. She peers out one of the windows. “Never mind, but I call the master bedroom. I need space.”

“I deserve the master bedroom because I’m adorable,” mutters Richie.

Max scowls at him. “If anybody gets that room for being adorable, it’s Will. Have you seen his face?”

Richie looks over at Will. “You know what, I have seen his face and I can go with that but really only because it means I still get that bedroom.”

Will looks down and it’s almost like he’s about to bury his nose in the tea. “Stop it guys.”

“Yeah, stop it guys,” Eddie snaps.

“Sleep sounds great,” Bev offers up her opinion on the matter.

“Great, now I have work to do to figure out where you all sleep.” El shakes her head as turns her attention to the next room and lifts her hand. Paper and a pen fly out and she grabs onto it then starts to write something out right away.

This leaves the Losers all gawking at her while Will chuckles and out of all of them, Richie doesn’t really flinch at her whole thing. Mike, Stan, and Patty have seen some crazy shit out there so this was weird but not too weird. Still they gawk at El who doesn’t even pay attention to their reaction.

Bev points at El before inhaling real deep. “Ok, I’m sorry but can you explain what just happened?”

“I second that because I’d like to also know for the record,” Mike adds about to turn on some equipment.

“It’s because she’s from the bad place,” explains Max.

“New Jersey?” Eddie asks.

“One time I want to New Jersey and didn’t get super powers,” complains Richie. “That’s not fair.” He looks at Will. “Can you do that, too?” Will smiles at him while shaking his head. “Wow, you really got the shit end of that whole portal business, didn’t you?”

“Shut up, Richie, you basically have some superpowers, but just from Maine” Mike says pointing at Richie.

“But not like that! That’s fucking cool.”

Eddie drops his beer, it splatters all over the place causing El to make some angry sound. “Sorry, the superpowers thing just caught me off guard. Carry on or whatever.”

All El says is, “You’re cleaning that up with your hands.” She lifts up her paper. “I have assigned everybody a place except that man. . .” She points at Eddie “. . .he sleeps on the couch.”

“Wow! Wow! No!” It’s Richie who speaks up. He moves closer to Eddie wrapping an arm around his shoulders pulling him closer and messes up Eddie’s hair. “See Eddie Spaghetti here has a shit back, his back is like spaghetti after its cooked not like in a box so he needs a lot of support so he’ll die if you make him sleep on the couch and if he survives then we die because we have to hear him bitch about it.”

Nobody notices it, but Will sort of chokes on his own air at these comments. He stares a lot harder at his feet in order to not look at Richie. _Whatever you do, don’t look at Richie, don’t look at him_. Too much of all his emotions would be painted on his face. All his distress, and for now, that’s for no one to see. He closes his eyes trying to let his thoughts buzz into white noise so nobody can hear them loud and clear.

El squints at Richie and with a sweep of her hand she flings the table out from under him. “You’re still under surveillance especially after you missed family diner.”

“It wasn’t a family dinner because I was there and them,” mutters Eddie, he’s a little busy helping Richie stand without the help of Will. Still Will is curling up into himself embracing the white noise in his mind. Richie frowns at his pants, all covered in beer. Another PBR down for the count. Eddie jabs a finger into Richie’s shoulder, “You deserved that for being a dick.”

“I wasn’t even being a dick!” Richie whispered to him. “You’re the dick!”

“Shut up! Shut up all of you!” shouts Joyce startling everybody. She grabs the paper from El. “First, you two, you can’t just say the same thing back at a person as an insult it’s stupid and you’re not funny. Second, small, annoying man you sleep on the couch. Woman with red hair and man, you are also sleeping out here but on the pull out sofa. Then Stan and Patty, you are going to sleep in the room by the kitchen. Mike, you are going to choose if you want to sleep out here on an air mattress or with the Urises. Ricardo and Will, you get the upstairs guest room.”

“My name isn’t Ricardo,” protests Richie.

“It is now,” chuckles Eddie.

“I told her that,” Will admits while laughing.

“I changed my mind, his name is Richard. Get it right.”

“Then we split the master bedroom.” Joyce signals to herself, El, ad Max. “Any questions because I don’t care. I don’t have time for this.”

Eddie raises his hand to say something but Joyce steps forward jabbing the paper in his chest. “You shut up, all you have done is shown up and be a jerk. You’re sleeping on the couch.”

“He can have the air mattress,” Mike declares. “I have some work I need to do out here anyway so it makes sense that I sleep on the couch.” 

“Great! I’m sleeping in Richie’s room.”

“It’s Richie’s and Will’s room!” El and Max correct him at the same time.

“We didn’t invite you though,” Will protests and looks right at Eddie, which for some reason, Richie feels a little jealous of. That’s not cool. He is always struggling to get Will to make eye contact with him, and Will has such kind eyes, they’re nice to look at. And Will is over there staring at Eddie instead, but then Richie is distracted by Eddie again, which is probably even more unfair. The two stand there without much to say while staring at each other like two fucking losers. “Right, Rich? He should probably sleep somewhere else.”

Still Richie stares smiling at Eddie who is making a weak attempt to ignore him. “Um just let him spend the night in the room with us. It’s not like it’s an issue. Dart 2.0 isn’t here so I don’t see the problem.” 

No smart ass comment or anything to add to his comment. It disturbs the rest of the room more. Even El and Max who had just met him caught on to how fucking weird this is. Still Richie stands there staring at Eddie who gives in and smiles back, too. 

“Well, upstairs room, here I come. I’m exhausted and this all-this all blows, I’m bored.” Richie hoists his beer away from the scene headed back to the stairs. He looks back and it’s hard to read if he’s looking at Will or Eddie because it’s so quick, so pointed, he smirks and then he’s gone.

Only Will follows. Eddie has to wait for an air mattress, anyway. He does his best not to watch Will make his way up the steps somewhat hearing Richie say _Have I told you about my belief in why not both?_ to which Will responds, _Beep, beep_. Soon they’re gone, voice and selves to some room up above. Eddie looks over to watch Mike scrawl out a few notes by his stuff, but Mike blocks any possible sneak Eddie can catch of such notes. 

Besides, Mike is a little too busy with his own thoughts, he turns his attention to El. “Can I ask you a few questions about our ghost friend before you go to bed for the night? Also, is it Eleanor? Ellie? El?”

“Eleven.” And El comes over to sit down close to him as every does their best to mosey along. 

Joyce signals for Eddie to follow because she’s gonna get the whole air mattress situation set up. It’s time for sleep, in theory, the storm continues to rage outside not ready to give up. Eddie stays put. He leans into the wall looking over at Mike and El as he sets up a mini podcast station. 

“I’m going to ask you a few questions then later I will edit them into a much larger story about the lighthouse here so please bare with me. Sorry that this is all a little last minute. When we have electricity back, I’ll print off a form I need you to sign just saying you’re ok with me posting this information.”

“Ok.” El flinches a bit as Mike leans forward to set up a little microphone for her. Her muscles all tighten up and all the lights come on for a short moment before going out again leaving them to the flames.

Instead, Mike says basically the same, “It’s ok. I’m not going to hurt you. This will just help us hear you better on the podcast.”

“Ok.”

“Before we get started, I’m going to test the sound.” Mike puts on a headset and picks up his pencil. “Alright, so should I call you Eleven or El?”

“El.”

“Great, interesting name. And for the record, El, what’s your last name?”

Except he gets no response, at first. Mike looks up, it takes him a bit to notice the silence. Right when he is about to ask the question again El has a response. “Eleven Hopper-Byers.”

“We don’t-We don’t have to use your last name, I’m sorry.”

“Ok. What are your real questions?”

Eddie starts to ignore them, not in the mood for a good ghost story. He looks out at the storm thinking about the dog he left behind at the house. Before leaving, he set up pee pads for the dog, but still didn’t think he would be out for such a long time. It’s the first time in two months he’s really left beyond walking the dog, and with things like Amazon, he hasn’t had the need to leave the house to buy groceries and other important things. He stays there for awhile not really calculating the time that passes until Bev tugs at his shoulder.

“Hey, Eddie, it’s getting pretty late. . .” Bev says. Eddie almost yelped startled by her. She puts her hands up, away from him. “Sorry, sorry.” Bev then rests one hand on his shoulder. “Sorry, I was just thinking you should get to bed.”

Mike is snoring. Somehow Eddie didn’t hear a single word of the interview and had no idea how fast time slipped away while standing there. It’s obvious in his knees, but otherwise, nope. Eddie stares at the couch then at Ben who is already asleep as well. Bev has a blanket wrapped around her more like a shawl than anything. She attempts to smile but is way, way too tired to do so. Eddie nods and pulls his phone out using the light to get back up the steps. 

Not once, once in the day did he have the chance to tell them about his life in between. His life after Pennywise, his recovery, his depression, him understanding what abuse is and all the forms it can come in before slowly moving himself away from Myra as far as he could until finally deciding he needs a divorce. Not even Richie asked and Richie wasn’t around earlier, instead he literally ran away and nobody did anything about that either nor did anybody ask him or Richie why such a thing would happen. Although he needed to ask Richie: _What the fuck, man?_

Right as Eddie enters the upstairs bedroom he think about just shouting it all out at Richie and Will. Letting them know about the chaos that has happened since they last met. Also, to be real honest, Eddie wanted to know what Richie’s in between life has been like, but maybe not really because it apparently has been fan-fucking-tastic. It’s not fair. None of it is fair.

Instead, Eddie remains quiet when he steps into the room. He clenches his jaw while standing there. Someone had set up the mattress, which is cool and all, but not his focus. No. It’s more the fact that there’s only one bed. Yeah, just one whole fucking bed and of course Richie and Will are sharing it. 

And out of all the people in the world, Richie is curled up there with Will behind him with his arms wrapped around. The motherfuckers are spooning and Richie--who Eddie would want to add is taller than Will--is the fucking little spoon. Eddie rolls his eyes yet nobody is around to see. He collapses onto the mattress and lies there staring up at the ceiling unsure to how much time passes. Once he looks back up at Will and Richie, they’re still together and fast asleep. How bad would it be if he did wake them up? Would that really be rude? Eddie would tell them the truth, _Sorry, there was an emergency, you two were really stressing me out causing some heart palpitations. I could’ve died._

Right when Eddie is feeling a little more bratty and about to straight up lie to get them up, something else distracts him. Some sort of dragging sound is in the hallway. He sits up looking at the door biting on his lower lip. 

His literal first thought, _Fuck I left it open_. Then the more important second thought, _Wake them up, just wake them up_. It’s really more of a scraping sound. Something heavy is dragging itself through the hallway. Eddie holds his phone to his chest letting what little light illuminate the room as he pretends his eyes all the way. But fuck that, he’s not. 

Something larger than any of them drags itself past the doorway hesitating to look into the room. The fucking ghost is all decked out in some old, rusty diving suit from like the super old days. It’s all brass and cloth and the glass part covering the face is cracked. Eddie stays as silent as he can, barely breathing letting it pass the room by into some other darkness inside the lighthouse. Oh fuck, this was going to suck.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do I ask for comments? Pls comment? I'm new at this. Just writing here some fanfiction for the first dang time (ever) like I am consumed by my love for It.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El and Max come running forward. Max has some crooked golf club in hand and stares down at the mess before looking at Will standing on the bed while Richie and Eddie sit there in the same bed.
> 
> “I’m not even going to ask,” says Max.
> 
> “I personally think why not both is an excellent philosophy,” Richie retorts.
> 
> “How can you say something like that right now?” snaps Eddie at the same time that Will just says, “Beep, beep Richie.”

Eddie is shaking Richie’s shoulder even though Richie keeps swatting at his face while muttering some nonsense. Instead, Eddie wakes up Will who sits up looking at him. Eddie uses the phone screen to still light up the room and Will reaches over to turn his flashlight on for more light.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he whispers.

Eddie releases Richie who rolls over facing Will burying his face underneath one of the pillows still muttering whatever. “Ghost. . .” Eddie whispers then says it louder because somebody won’t fucking wake up. “GHOST!” Except that’s too loud because the scraping sound returns toward the room. Oh, and to make it worse, Richie covers his face with the pillow in an attempt to sleep more. Eddie covers his mouth. Will looks at the door, it’s still open. “Pretend we’re asleep.”

With this, Eddie drops into bed with them. His heart is thrumming so loud, it has to be loud enough to wake Richie or for the ghost out there to catch onto the fact they’re awake. Will pretends to sleep watching the doorway. 

A hunkering shadow pulls past them, but stops in the doorway. It inches a little closer. Both Eddie and Will watch it from the bed trying their best to pretend they’re fast asleep. Of course, Eddie’s heart beats a whole lot faster with death coming so much closer. Some memories spill back into the front of his mind and he closes his eyes for real trying to focus on anything, anything else like the pain that’s always in his arm when it rains.

Because he broke said arm so long ago and somebody tried to reset it on the spot rather than letting doctors do their business. The whole time Eddie kept screaming, Don’t you fucking touch me. Eddie opens his eyes to see that somebody is still hiding underneath pillows to avoid them. Out of the corner of his eye though he spots the ghost continues to stand watching them lie down there bringing back some other vague school memory.

_“The old man was lying there not dreaming that I was at his door. Suddenly he moved in his bed. You may think I became afraid. But no. The darkness in his room was thick and black. I knew he could not see the opening of the door. I continued to push the door, slowly, softly. I put in my head. I put in my hand, with the covered light.” _

Richie fucking snaps to attention. The flashlight is still on, sitting beside Will pretending to sleep.

_“Suddenly the old man sat straight up in bed and cried, ‘Who’s there??!’”_

“Who’s having a nightmare? It’s killing my head.” Richie is about to prod Will when he realizes Eddie is in bed with him. 

Eddie puts a finger to his lips trying to get him to shut up, but if anybody were to ask later Eddie planned to say: _You try to get someone nicknamed Trashmouth to shut up_. Richie cocks his head to the side while he stares down at Eddie who is trying to hiss a shush with his finger to his lips, but his thoughts are so much louder in the moment reciting some old Edgar Allan Poe story.

_“I stood quite still. For a whole hour I did not move. Nor did I hear him lie down again in his bed. He just sat there, listening. Then I heard a sound, a low cry of fear which escaped the old man.”_

“Could you stop that? You’re-You're distracting me with your thoughts,” says Richie. “And since when were you into murder stories?”

If Eddie had more time then he would have asked what that is supposed to mean. Instead, Will snaps to attention. He grabs onto the flashlight right as the hunkering ghost drags itself toward them. Will shines the light in the direction of the ghost. He stands up on the bed wobbling on it, unable to balance.

“GO! GET OUT OF HERE! WE’RE NOT AFRAID OF YOU!” Will screams at the ghost.

Richie sits there gawking at the ghost. “Oh shit, that’s nuts.”

“LEAVE US ALONE!” Will continues to scream.

The whole house is up, thanks to him. Something is flung down the hallway pelting the ghost while he stands there. The ghost backs away before melting away into the ground looking a lot more like black tar that seeps through the cracks in the floor. El and Max come running forward. Max has some crooked golf club in hand and stares down at the mess before looking at Will standing on the bed while Richie and Eddie sit there in the same bed.

“I’m not even going to ask,” says Max.

“I personally think _why not both_ is an excellent philosophy,” Richie retorts.

“How can you say something like that right now?” snaps Eddie at the same time that Will just says, “Beep, beep Richie.”

Downstairs Mike shouts something up to them, but El is too busy staring at the floorboards where the ghost sank out of sight. Will climbs off the bed using Richie’s shoulder for balance, but Richie remains sitting there with Eddie beside him. He looks down as their knees touch, which almost seems so simple and so stupid and so important at the same time. Eddie doesn’t notice, he’s still caught up in his strange set of loud thoughts.

_“Have I not told you that my hearing had become unusually strong? Now I could hear a quick, low, soft sound, like the sound of a clock heard through a wall. It was the beating of the old man’s heart. I tried to stand quietly. But the sound grew louder.”_

Eddie closes his eyes touching his chest feeling his heartbeat so fast and so loud and somewhere back at the house is a bottle of Xanax waiting around for him. He doesn’t notice any movement as he’s caught up there sinking into the loud sounds of his heart until something touches his palm. Eddie opens his eyes to find Richie dropping a bottle of Xanax and another bottle but of Ativan into his hands. The words are just scrawled across them in sharpie rather than actual, legit labels.

“Please calm the fuck down, you’re giving me a headache,” Richie says holding the side of his head. He then takes the Xanax back popping to pills into his mouth and dry swallows them. “Also, your hearing is normal hearing.”

“What are you talking about?” retorts Eddie. “You can’t take these together, you know that right?”

“Who’s counting?”

“I don’t know, your heart? Your brain? Whatever they effect? Why don’t you ask your psychiatrist?” 

Richie looks over at Will who is standing in the doorway shaking his head. “You worry too much,” is his response before he follows Will downstairs. Mike is pretty loud as he’s talking through different ideas about this whole ghost situation. 

“Hey Richie! It doesn’t even say the dosage on these!” Eddie yells down at Richie, but Richie is gone. “You could die, I hope you know that! Give me five minutes and I can tell you all your death details--if there’s wifi!” 

When Eddie goes to join everybody downstairs, he scoots around the spot where the ghost disappeared. It appears the electricity is still out and they have all the candles and lanterns lit up again. Joyce is digging through a box pulling actual flashlights out and mumbling off numbers with them.

“Are we seriously going to look for this ghost?” Eddie asks.

“I want it gone,” responds El.

“It’s sort of what we do now,” adds Stan.

“While also collecting different stories for the podcast,” Mike speaks up as he sets up a little handheld recorder. “Testing, testing, testing.”

“Can I sit this one out?” asks Eddie.

Stan, Patty, and Mike all say together, “No.”

“C’mon Eds, how could you forget that Losers stick together or we die horrible deaths,” states Richie.

“Ok, but even when we’ve been together I’ve almost died so that might work for you. I mean, look at you, you’re doing just fine, unchanged from any of this. Meanwhile, I almost die and my life is in ruins.”

Ben raises his hand about to speak up to point out he has also almost died, but Bev puts his hand down. “I think you should decide on what you want to do.”

“Perfect, I’ll be waiting in the car then.”

Bev isn’t done yet though, “I guess Richie will have to split up in a group with Ben and me.”

“Hot,” replies Richie.

“Have you ever stopped to think about how you’re the most ridiculous person in existence?” asks Ben.

Richie shrugs. “Often and then I remember it’s all an act so cue the existential crisis.”

“Oh well, if it helps, I can team up with Richie and Will,” Eddie comes a little closer to where Richie and Will both stand. Richie takes one of the flash lights and shines it into Ben’s eyes.

“Cool, it works.”

“Stop that!” says Ben.

Eddie pushes the flashlight down so it’s not in Ben’s eyeline. “So what are we doing again? Do we have a plan? I hope we have a plan. There better be a plan because I need a plan and without Bill here, I hope it’s still a good plan.”

Bill. All the Losers follow through the following motions of grabbing flashlights and staying quiet leaving Max the only person to ask, “Who’s Bill?”

“Some guy we knew who died,” replies Richie.

“RICHIE!” snaps Bev.

“What? It’s true. That’s an actual bona fide fact.”

Ben mutters again, “Most ridiculous person in existence,” which causes Richie to blind him all over again with the flashlight. This time Eddie just takes it from him.

“We have a plan,” Mike offers an answer to a bigger question. “We are all breaking down into smaller groups to spread out, to take a different level of the lighthouse while Will figures out where the ghost went.” Will waves with such a fake smile. “He’ll connect with the ghost to see where the ghost is moving and let Richie know who will let El know. She understands how to contact Stan and me so I’ll be with Bev and Ben while Stan and Patty are on their own.” He pauses for a bit before adding one last bit, “Oh and Max, El, and Joyce will be together.”

Eddie wrinkles his nose at this plan. He tries to calculate what was just all said to him and is still lost at the whole Will and Richie thing. “I’m sorry, but what?”

Will sighs. “I can. . .I can get into the minds of other creatures like a warg, more _Game of Thrones_ than D&D or _Lord of the Rings_ so I’ll talk to Richie about what’s up who can communicate with El. All of this will be silent so the ghost won’t know we’re onto them and then El will use morse code to contact Stan and Mike who all know morse code because of me. Handy trick.”

“No, I’m sorry, I still don’t follow this so ok you see like through monsters so you’re like a monster spy and then you communicate _how_ with Richie who then is going to communicate _how_ with El.”

“Telepathy?” replies Will looking at Richie who isn’t even looking at any of them. Richie is staring at nothing across the room while clenching his jaw. “I guess I’d call it telepathy, right?”

“Richie isn’t telepathic, I think I’d know something like that about him. How are you telepathic, Richie? I mean like if you are then since when?” snaps Eddie. “Wouldn’t I know? That seems like a pretty obvious thing that I’d know. Right? That’s something you’d share. I mean, since when were you all ‘telepathic,’ Richie?”

Still not looking at anybody Richie answers him with a single word, “Deadlights.”

“What?” Eddie is too fast to answer before it clicks together. “Oh fuck. What?! Oh fuck! RICHIE! Why wouldn’t you tell me that? I fucking saved your life down there man then you fucking up and left, I fucking almost died for you.”

“I don’t think now is a good time to talk about this,” Bev interrupts them.

“Agreed, you’re making me so uncomfortable,” adds Max.

Richie takes the flashlight from Eddie and tucks it into the back pocket of his jeans. “Let’s go kill this fucking ghost. I don’t have time for this.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” mutters Joyce.

Richie turns to face Will. “Are you sure about this? I mean, we’re locking you up in a closet and it’d be a shame to put you back in the closet.”

“Beep, beep, Richie.” Will rolls his eyes while Ben pokes Bev to prove his earlier statement. Will moves across the room towards a door in the wall. He opens it and backs up inside watching as Richie comes closer who picks at the door. Its paint is peeling away, fast. “I’ll be fine, promise, I’ve made it this far without you.”

“I know.” Richie shrugs before he starts speaking in such a hushed voice that everybody has to strain their ears to hear him. At least it’s Richie who is naturally too loud no matter what. “I can still worry though. Like what if I’m not here and you choke on your tongue?”

“I’m not going to choke on my tongue, _Richie_.”

“I could put a spoon in your mouth if that helps.” Richie closes the door a little more like this is going to offer up some privacy with everybody watching the exchange.

“Please don’t put a spoon in my mouth.”

“There are other things I can put in your. . .”

“BEEP, BEEP RICHIE!” Will shouts. His face is so scarlet causing Richie to crack up. “Oh my God! Get out of here while you can. I might kill you.”

“I don’t understand I was gonna say like a pillow or something soft.”

“Richie!”

“Byyyyyye.” Richie closes the door leaving Will inside the closest to the complete darkness.

Will closes his eyes and inhales deeply thinking of a distant suggestion of a therapist. If he counts down from five, he can do anything. He can do anything like face this new creature. Whatever it takes.

**Five. **

Outside the doors, Richie returns to Eddie as Mike tells them they are to head up to the very top level. He continues to rattle off assignments to everybody else.

**Four.**

Will can feel his heart expand in his chest. It’s not really, but it feels that way. Dart 2.0 is out there somewhere, too far away. If in need, Will hoped he could snap his attention to Dart 2.0 fast enough.

**Three**.

Bev, Ben, and Mike start to head to the lowest level of the lighthouse. She looks back at them ready to take the lead wishing she grabbed something to whack a ghost with. That’s if you can whack ghosts.

**Two.**

El, Max, and Joyce remain on the first floor watching as Eddie and Richie ascend the steps together not talking to one another. Still Richie is wound uptight. Muscles tight and him still clenching his jaw. Stan and Patty go outside. The storm isn’t too bad anymore. There’s still rain and lightning but they need to search the grounds as a whole. Patty turns around looking at them giving them a thumbs up before she closes the door. El looks at the closest door, she needs to stay close in her search to Will in case he ends up in danger. She’s saved him before.

**One.**

Will whispers to himself as tremors consume him. He drops back hitting his head against the back of the closet wishing he had been sitting in the first place. He collapses and probably needs someone there. All he can think is: Here. We. Go. As his mind slips away and falls away into some creepy, stalkerish ghost.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really really really hope at least 1 person loves this chapter 'cause I had a lot of fun writing it and shit is about to get so real.
> 
> Also hope you like Poe references, I was more thinking of how The Shining references Poe and wanted to try.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Richard Tozier! I’m talking to you! Ok! You will listen to me because things have been so fucked up for so fucking long and I’m so fucking mad because I have always fucking loved you and I will not die without you knowing that, it almost happened before, but not this time. And I don’t give a fuck anymore to who knows.”
> 
> Richie is stuck there holding onto Eddie. They two never break their focus from one another. Meanwhile, other ghosts lifting up illuminate the area around him. And there’s a lot, there’s a lot to unpack there, so much to unpack there and what does Richie decide to say. If anybody else was listening close enough they would point out he’s back to deflecting, always deflecting and unable to be real with himself or anybody else.
> 
> At least, he states a truth, “Eds. . .I think you dislocated my shoulder.
> 
> “Richie. . .I actually really fucking hate you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I promise promise promise that this is about to pick up and be all about Richie and Eddie and like soft (but also so much heartbreak because I'm a sad sad person). It just took me way longer to get to some of these scenes I've had planned from the start and am a little peeved because I want to love this chapter, but I don't and I'm sorry that it kinda sort of super sucks (but it's been a rough week for me and headed towards more roughness).

“Do you feel like we’re getting the short end of this stick?” Patty has to shout over the wind for Stan to hear her. They’re both outside close to the edge of the cliff with their flashlights. She’s pointing hers at the waves that collide with the large rocks below them. “What did Mike say about that one ghost?”

“Died during a rescue mission,” replies Stan as he comes to stand next to her.

Patty smiles at him. The wind almost blows her yellow hood off, she’s wearing some plastic yellow raincoat to survive the elements. “Wonderful. So wonderful.”

They continue to stand there. The second the wind shoves her hood off her head, Stan reaches out fixing it, he pulls it back on. Patty chuckles and holds onto the edges thanks to Stan. There’s something she wants to say but at the same time, she has no idea what it was in the first place. Doesn’t matter because below there is some sort of rumbling sound. Again they look down to see the water start to glow. It’s a low yellow color that is collecting underneath the waves and between the rocks of the old shipwreck.

“Yeah, I don’t think I like that,” comments Stan.

“Same.”

Stan looks back at the lighthouse. He can get a sense the light is growing but there is no contact from anybody else inside. “Wanna go hide?”

Patty pulls out her phone snapping a picture. “And miss this? It’s like _The Abyss_.”

“Wait, does that movie have a happy ending?”

Patty snaps another quick pic before hiding her phone, more because of the rain. “Oh um, I don’t know if I remember.”

“Remember how this was supposed to be just a birding thing but look at us now.”

Still Patty stands there and chuckles. “Yeah, we’re having the time of our lives even with your shit friend Richie around. I’m gonna punch him one of these days and it’s gonna be so cool.”

The light continues to grow and Stan takes a step back. “I think we should go tell Mike or Jean Gray in there.”

“Her name is El, not Jean.”

“I know. . .!” Stan pauses. He takes another step back crashing into something or maybe a someone. Patty turns around first and screams. He stays put letting the palms of his hand touching whatever is there. “Patty?”

“We’re not alone, Stan.”

He still doesn’t move, something is there. “Oh yeah so I figured that out already.”

###

The wooden steps creak underneath Mike, Bev, and Ben as they descend into such an inky blackness. Their lights barely work in such darkness. Ben stops when they’re about half way. Neither of them closed the door behind them yet it snaps shut cutting off what little light existed. It was more of the figment of the imagination of light in such a darkness.

“Basements seem like a bad place to go, don’t you think?” Ben asks.

“What? It’s not like we’re in Derry,” responds Mike.

“So I have a theory that haunted basements can exist anywhere,” adds Bev.

Patty’s scream slices through the moment. Ben who is closest to the top of the stairs whirls around to go up them again. Mike and Bev say nothing. Ben climbs up them and goes to throw the door open, but it’s stuck. He struggled to wriggle the doorknob, doesn’t budge. 

“Guys, I think we have a problem,” Ben announces.

“Yay!” whispers Bev. “We get to die in Delaware.”

“We’re not going to die in Delaware,” Mike corrects her.

But Bev looks over her shoulder at him while Ben battles the door. “Um we’re about to die and we are in Delaware so yeah we are.”

Mike rolls his eyes. “I meant it as in we’re not going to die.”

Ben starts to slam on the door while shouting for somebody to pay attention to him. Mike pulls his phone out about to see if he can call Stan or Richie only for the phone to slip from his hand. It strikes the floor probably shattering by the sound of it. He goes to shine his light beyond the steps to see only for the light to flicker out. Bev opens her mouth to say something, but nope, her light also goes out and Ben’s, too. They’re all in such a darkness that it seems too dangerous to move on crooked steps.

Mike speaks up, “I can’t believe we’re about to die in Delaware.”

###

El stares at her now dead flashlight. She shakes it a few times before looking at the lanterns she lit and how one-by-one they go out plunging her and everybody else into nothing. “Crap,” she mutters. The only light to offer is lightning that sometimes streaks across the sky outside. El turns around to see if she can make out Max or Joyce, but they appear to be gone. She closes her eyes hoping to hear something from Richie but only gets radio silence.

“El?” Max shouts from the kitchen.

“Yeah?” she shouts back.

“What kind of name is El supposed to be?” a small voice speaks up .

El has to turn around catching sight of a child there, the child’s face lights up from the lightning outside. The kid has a knife in hand, some steak knife. They stand there staring at one another.

“Um hi?” El says.

“Oh shit! That’s the murder child, Mike, talked about!” Max shouts when she walks into the room. She takes her phone from her pocket chucking it at the ghost child’s face. It strikes the kid square in the face, hitting their nose before the phone falls to the ground. “Oh fuck! Joyce!”

The ghost kid starts to screech holding onto the knife. All the lights brighten, returning to life as if the power returns to the whole place. They glow brighter and brighter before they burst. El puts her hands up stopping shards from raining down on them. Instead, she shoots the glass shards in the child’s direction who sprinted toward them still screeching.

“Oh fuck! Oh fuck! Fuck!” Max continues to scream. 

She whips a vase off something and runs forward at the child. El is about to turn her attention to something, anything in the room to fling with her mind when Ben starts to pound on the door shouting. The moment her attention turns to the door, the child throws herself into El knocking her over about to stab the knife into her shoulder but at least, Max is there to save the day slamming the vase into the child ghost’s face. The vase shatters and El lies there screaming as she flings the ghost child upwards into the ceiling. She lies there holding her hand out.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Max continues to scream while she stands there. “Oh fuck!”

El uses her elbow to wipe some blood away from her nose. She screams tearing the ghost child from the ceiling and into one of the walls. The steak knife falls to the ground. Max springs out grabbing onto it and points it at the girl.

“Also, her name is Eleven and that’s an amazing name,” snaps Max.

“WIIIIIIILL!” El shouts.

Except they all know he’s looking for a different ghost, one he saw and not this murderous child ghost. Joyce almost breaks El’s attention as she comes bolting into the same room interrupting them. “You guys should look outside.” Joyce stops and stares at the child. “Who’s that?”

“Murder child,” whispers El while glaring at the ghost child who starts to laugh.

“I don’t like that,” adds Max holding onto the knife a lot tighter. She backs up. Outside it grows a lot lighter, something yellow is glowing out there while Ben continues to pound on the door. Bev and Mike join him in shouting for some attention. 

El releases the child ghost. Max takes a few steps back pointing the knife at the child while Joyce goes to help them with the door. It doesn’t work out. Now Joyce starts to curse. “Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!”

“WIIIIIL!” El screams and turns around to face the closet door he’s inside. “WILL!”

Only if Will could hear her or have any response it would be: Will’s not here anymore.

###

When Patty pulls Stan closer to her, he gets a better look at what is behind him. Some sort of creature who is soaking wet, not in the diving suit though. Someone else who was once lost at seat. The glow becomes much brighter while they stand there. Still the waves keep on crashing there. The ghost doesn’t move while standing there. It’s hard to make out what he wears, but his clothes are muddied and decaying while standing out there in the storm.

“I hope you like birds?” Stan states.

“Um why would you say that?” Patty whispers.

“I’ve seen it work before, listing birds and scarring monsters. Trust me on this one.”

“PIGEON!” Patty screams at the ghost reaching for a rock about to chuck it at his face. “SPARROW!”

“PELICAN!” Stan also screams.

Still the ghost stands there staring at them without providing a better word to the situation. Instead, he looks around them at the water. Pieces of light break off almost like embers that float on out of the water and towards the sky. They stand there with the ghost watching it ignoring the screams from inside the lighthouse for a bit. El is already trapped fighting the ghost kid.

Stan returns to the whole bird thing. “PEACOCK!” 

“Peacock?” whispers the ghost turning his attention to them.

“Um hi, we’re the Urises, we come in peace unless you come in violence.”

Still the ghost stands there without doing anything or saying another word. He stares off over the edge at those lights. Stan looks back at the lighthouse not hearing anything from El or the rest of them.

###

“Richie, can I talk to you about something?” Eddie asks as they continue to make their way up the stairs. 

“No, I’m not really in a talking mood,” replies Richie.

“Ok, but I can do all the talking.”

Richie almost trips on the steps in front of him as his flashlight fades. “Well, that’s stupid. I guess the batteries were dying or something.” Richie instead keeps walking on ignoring Eddie who keeps up with him as they are close to exiting at the top where the light fixture waits.

“I mean, I’d really like to talk about this one thing.”

Richie pauses before he leaves the lighthouse. “Ok, but we’re busy right now.”

“But you have to promise me that we can then talk later?” 

Eddie reaches out to grab onto Richie’s shoulder just missing him. Richie isn’t even paying attention to him while focusing on the dead flashlight instead. Seems pretty important at least. Somewhere downstairs the scraping sound starts up again, but while they have a chance before any extra ghosts make an appearance.

“So you promise then to talk later?”

The fact that Richie nods is more-or-less upsetting and he walks through the door to the area up there. 

“You’ve changed, and that sucks.

Richie is at such a loss of words while he gawks at Eddie. Maybe’s he’s right? It’s hard to tell. But like Eddie has changed, too, and not a single person has bothered to ask him about it. The sound behind them gradually grows louder. Eddie stays close behind him watching Richie pull a small gun free that had been strapped to his ankle.

“Oh my God, Richie! Did you always have a gun with you?” asks Eddie.

“Yeah, I do. It’s a scary world out there.”

“Ok, but can guns protect us from ghosts?” Still Eddie moves behind Richie letting him stand in front 

“Hopefully, we won’t have to find out.”

Eddie stares at Richie. “When did you become so serious?”

“I think about ten minutes ago.”

“Cool.”

They stand there in wait, but the sound stops leaving them to the sounds of the storm and other people yelling. Richie keeps his gun leveled while pointing it down the stairs. _Will?_

_Behind you_.

“Eddie!” Richie doesn’t mean to shout it so loud as he goes to turn around and crashes into Eddie by accident. They come face to face with the ghost in the diving suit. Their face mask all cracked making it real hard to make out his expression. Richie pulls the trigger on his little gun launching a bullet at the diving ghost. The bullet does in fact hit him, but he doesn’t move or flinch or react.

This leaves Eddie casually saying, “That can’t be good.”

But Richie reaches out behind him trying his best to push Eddie out of the way. “Eddie! Eddie, please go.” He turns around forgetting the ghost is there for a split second looking at Eddie about to yell for him to leave but he’s swept to the ground gasping in pain. The ghost does the same to Eddie, swiping him to the ground. Again, he shouts, “EDDIE!”

The ghost almost keels over grabbing onto his head. His feet scrape along the ground and Richie stands up using this as a chance of attack. He hears Will somewhere, _You don’t have long. I’m going to call Dart._

_Cool, thanks_. Richie goes to swipe the legs while the ghost continues to grasp his head thanks to Will who is picking around in his head. Still, they don’t have long but there’s El and there’s Dart 2.0. Somewhere around them, strange lights raise up and Richie almost misses ‘cause of them. Still, he kicks the ghost in the back of his knees almost knocking the ghost over face first. Eddie also kicks out at the ghost's legs. He’s kicking at the ghost's side of his leg over and over again.

“Get the fuck back. . .to wherever you came from?” Eddie started shouted at the ghost.

Between their efforts, the ghost hits the ground still holding onto his head. Richie grabs onto Eddie’s hands dragging him off the ground. The two collide with each other falling over not really ready to fight anything together. The ghost releases his head and snaps to attention.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck,” Eddie starts to mutter.

Richie’s hand flails a bit for him. He manages to get his balance again dragging Eddie back on up to his feet. “We should run.”

“I like running,” says Eddie.

“Don’t you have asthma?”

“Not now!” snaps Eddie.

The ghost drags himself across the lighthouse in their direction, it’s time, but not enough time. They’re up on their feet but the ghost shoves forward hitting Richie who in turn knocks Eddie off and over the side. “No! Wait! Eddie!” screams Richie ignoring the fact that they’re both close to death, but Eddie is a whole lot closer. He manages to catch Eddie before he falls all the way off. His arms feel as if they’re about to split from their sockets. Eddie dangles over the edge with those strange lights rising up. Below he spots Stan and Patty dealing with their own issue. But like Dart 2.0 is on the way. 

“Richie! I still need to tell you my something!” Eddie yells.

Richie though is kicking at the ghost who grabs onto his ankles to drag him away, but he holds onto Eddie. He looks down at Eddie. “Can this wait? We’re in the middle of something.” One ankle he gets free. Richie makes an attempt to reach Will again, _WIIILL! Fucking need you here, man!_

“No, because if I die I don’t get to say anything because I’m dead!” Eddie is still shouting.

That ghost is dragging him but as Richie is pulled back, he loses hold of Eddie’s one hand, but still has the other holding so much tighter. His shoulder is caught on the edge. “I think you’re dislocating my arm!” Richie shouts.

“Are you talking to me or the ghost?”

Richie continues to kick but it’s pretty hard being stuck in two different places at once. Richie bites his lower lip to stop from just screaming in pain. He pushes half his face into the ground but doesn’t change his focus from Eddie who he holds onto.

“I-I don’t know!” Richie manages a gasp.

“I need you to listen to me!” Eddie continues to shout at him. 

Those fingers from the ghost peel away and Richie flings his other arm forward grabbing onto Eddie again. But it’s not like he has enough upper body strength to pull him up. Behind him at least he can hear El joining the scene and shouting as she attacks the ghost. Not that he can witness the scene nor can Eddie. 

“Richard Tozier! I’m talking to you! Ok! You will listen to me because things have been so fucked up for so fucking long and I’m so fucking mad because I have always fucking loved you and I will not die without you knowing that, it almost happened before, but not this time. And I don’t give a fuck anymore to who knows.”

Richie is stuck there holding onto Eddie. They two never break their focus from one another. Meanwhile, other ghosts lifting up illuminate the area around him. And there’s a lot, there’s a lot to unpack there, so much to unpack there and what does Richie decide to say. If anybody else was listening close enough they would point out he’s back to deflecting, always deflecting and unable to be real with himself or anybody else.

At least, he states a truth, “Eds. . .I think you dislocated my shoulder.

“Richie. . .I actually really fucking hate you.”

“Eds. . .I don’t think I can lift you up.”

“I hope it’s because your stupid ass comment is weighing you down.”

Richie shakes his head. “No, Eddie, my arm really dislocated. I can’t lift you up.”

Dangling there, Eddie glares at Richie. “I hate you.”

“I hate me, too,” replies Richie in almost a whisper, probably the best truth after the fact his shoulder dislocated. 

Soon Joyce is next to him reaching down to grab onto Eddie. Max joins them. Together they’re able to hoist Eddie back on up over the edge. Eddie lands on Richie who lies there before he slowly sits up, knocking Eddie off him a bit. Eddie reaches out poking his one arm, it’s hanging at a strange angle.

“Oh shit, I can fix that.”

“Please don’t,” replies Richie. “I’m into hospitals.”

The ghost in the diving suit appears to be gone. El stands there wiping blood from her face. She moves forward looking down at them all before looking over the edge. Those little lights are everywhere. It’s like somebody lit a bunch of lanterns and released them.

“Can I take you to the hospital?” Eddie asks Richie who moves away a bit from Eddie afraid he’ll decide to shove his arm back into place.

“Yeah. . .yeah. . .” Richie pauses looking at their feet. “I um think we do need to talk.”


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to be cute, trying to write love confessions for Richie and Eddie. I try.

There was a lot that happened, a lot that sucked. There was an ambulance, which brought Richie to the hospital. The whole long way he stared at Eddie in said ambulance wishing. . .no, wrong, he wanted to say he wished Will were there, but that’d always be such a lie. It’d always been about the two of them and always would be about them until the end of time, which is so fucking stupid but so fucking true. All Richie can think about is how much he is a shit person.

Richie stands in an area waiting to “check out” of the Emergency Room seeing if he owes any more money even though they took a lot from him at the start. Whoever is working there is taking awhile. It’s pretty quiet, probably the luxury of not being located in a city somewhere.

Eddie comes up beside Richie lifting a set of keys. “Got my car.” Richie sort of just gives him a quick smile before looking back for somebody to help him get out of this place. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“What’s what supposed to mean?” replies Richie. He waves somebody down.

“That look you just gave me.”

Again, Richie looks over at him raising an eyebrow because _what_. “Oh yeah, that look. I um actually just looked at you. No conspiracy. Promise.”

“Oh. Cool.”

A woman comes over to him bringing him some papers about how to take care of his arm. “Did the doctor speak to you?”

“Yeah, I think so unless that guy back there wasn’t a doctor.”

She does not find this funny and hands him the papers then asks him to sign something. Richie laughs at his stupid joke as he does before turning to look at Eddie again who stands there not amused. Also, he in general feels on edge in hospitals.

“Remember that one summer where you broke your arm and I kept visiting you in the hospital?” Richie asks. He leans into the counter as he uses his good arm to tuck all the papers into his arm sling. “You remember that now, right?”

“Yeah,” says Eddie.

Richie smirks. “Good.”

“You’re a real charmer, Trashmouth Tozier.”

“I know. It’s why I’m always breaking hearts.” Except as soon as he says that, it sucks because he sucks. “We should get back.”

Eddie nods. “Oh yeah, makes sense.” He leads the way out some sliding doors for the ER. It’s even quiet out there, Most of the cars in the lot are probably staff and it doesn’t appear that any other ambulance came to the hospital after El’s little firestarter act.

Soon they’re in the car and Eddie is driving while holding on so tight to the steering wheel, his joints might snap. Richie sits there, leaning back in the seat with no words to share. The radio plays for a bit, but he uses his good arm to jab the volume button in, shutting it off.

“Wait, can you pull over for a sec?” Richie blurts.

Eddie looks around because there is nothing around them, but he pulls off to the side of the road, putting the car in park. Richie sits there looking at him. The rain starts up again, but at least it’s not a horrible mess like earlier. Richie awkwardly turns in the seat to face Eddie, the seatbelt is a mess especially with his whole arm being damaged. Richie sits there looking at Eddie and smiles.

“Hi,” Richie says.

“Hi?” Eddie looks around the car before looking back at Richie. “Um who the fuck are you and what did you do with my smart ass friend?”

“Oh, yeah, I killed him like five years ago. It was cool.”

“Richie, why are we stopped here.”

Richie shrugs, regretting this because of the whole shoulder situation. He sucks in one long gasp. “I thought you said you wanted to talk so here we are, talking on a dark scary road.”

Some car passes them, it slows down while whoever is in there looks at them. Neither Eddie nor Richie appear to be in trouble so the car keeps going. Richie and Eddie are quiet looking at the car go along before returning their attention to one another.

“I’m sorry,” says Eddie.

“For what?”

“For what I said back there.”

Eddie goes to put the car back into drive but Richie puts his hand on his. Eddie looks down at their hands before back up at Richie. When another car passes, Richie holds his breath like it’ll bring bad luck otherwise. That and he wants it gone like whoever is in it will spy on them.

Richie watches Eddie the whole time waiting, and right when Eddie is about to babble on about something, he interrupts by saying. “Eds. . .I love you, too, but. . .”

“But what?” asks Eddie.

“But. . .I don’t know. . .I mean, I guess I’m in a relationship right now or I think I am and I’m sorry.”

“I hear you, but what about your whole why not both joke?”

Richie chuckles and moves his hand away from Eddie. He picks at the papers stuffed into his sling. “I don’t know, it was just some bad joke, which is stupid because I’m literally only good at bad jokes, and also I’d have to talk to you and then I’d have to talk to Will because like if Will is not the poly sort, that’d be rude, right, wouldn’t it? And I can’t take anything serious in my life so I’ll fuck it up for everybody.”

“Or you could break up with him,” suggests Eddie.

“That’s not really fair to any of us, too. I don’t think you get to ask me to choose, that’s plain toxic.”

“Ok, but even when I was with Myra and if you had stayed and if we had this conversation a year ago, I would have left her in an instant, but instead, you were some asshole who just fucking up and left.”

But Richie shakes his head. “I don’t think you would have.”

“Then make a fucking time machine and find out.”

“I also wasn’t in a place where I was ready to tell you or anybody anything so there’s that so I’m sorry that our lives fucking blow.”

This time, Eddie does put the car into drive and pulls out of their spot letting them return to the silence. He chews on his lower lip the whole way. When they make it to the lighthouse, it’s pretty much gone. Everybody is camping around the van waiting for their return. Somebody waves to them. It’s hard to tell from where they are if it’s Mike or Ben.

Again, Richie touches the back of Eddie’s hand getting his full attention. “So, Eds. . .”

“Stop calling me, Eds.”

For no reason at all, Richie leans forward quickly kissing him before opening his door. “I still love you, Eds. Thanks for the ride back.” He pauses. “I think you should come with us. We’re going back to Maine. All of us and our dog, too.”

“Can't I'm house sitting and looking after a dog.”

Richie unbuckles his seatbelt and climbs out of the car. “Ok, then. Good luck with all of that.” Without offering up a real goodbye, he slams the door shut. He waves back to the Losers and shouts something to them, ready to just return to his now new normal life.

This leaves Eddie there, he’s about to put the car in reverse but instead sits there not really moving thinking about a few actual genuine moments with Richie. No stupid jokes. None of that. It had to be the painkillers they put him on. Eddie follows through putting the car into reverse about to hit the gas pedal, but for some reason he holds on so tight and his foot is pressing into the brake pedal.

Somebody knocks on the car window right as an alarming thought hits Eddie, he can’t leave. He can’t just fucking give up, and he yelps at the loud sound releasing the brake pedal which sends him backwards causing whoever outside to yell. Eddie looks out to see Richie is there. He hits the gas pedal like that’s going to help, the car backs up right over Richie’s foot or really all the way, the car had already rolled up onto it and now crushed it. Eddie hits the brakes again throwing the car into park before rolling down his window to stare at Richie.

“EDWARD! You fucking broke my foot!” Richie screams at him.

“RICHARD! You scared me! Why did you come back?” Eddie shouts.

“I didn’t want you to leave!” Richie yells hopping on one foot.

“I should probably take you back to the hospital.”

Stan is the first to come over to help him offering some support for Richie. He shakes his head while looking at Richie. “You’re a mess.”

“You don’t know the half of it,” mutters Richie while keeping eye contact with Eddie especially as Will and El come over to them.

Will forces himself to laugh as he comes up on Richie’s other side. “Stop breaking my. . .boyfriend.”

But Richie and Eddie don’t appear to hear this while they look at one another. “I think you should give me your insurance information,” Richie tells Eddie while leaning closer to the car window.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t have money, I used it all on the arm you dislocated. But I guess I can use Stan’s money instead if you decide to stay. I won’t let anybody know you ran over my foot.”

“But I will,” Stan announces. “Whether you stay or not, I’m going to report the incident.”

Eddie looks away at the others camping around the van. They have a little campfire set up. He holds tight to the steering wheel still, it’s to the point he’ll probably need help breaking free. His fingers are stuck. Somebody will need to pry them away, but instead, he pulls himself free and unbuckles his seatbelt about to get out of the car.

“Um yeah, I’ll stay,” Eddie says.

“Except like not right now because, remember _hospital time_,” Richie points out nodding in the direction of his foot. “Hospital, you need to take me there.”

“Oh fuck, yeah, your right. Um Stan come with us, help him into the car.”

Stan looks over at Will without offering much of an answer. Instead, he helps Richie into the back and climbs back there. Stan leans out the door looking at them. “Tell the Losers to meet us at the hospital because somebody had to run over somebody else’s foot.”

“It was an accident! I promise!” Eddie yells. “Make sure they know it’s an accident.”

Stan closes the door and they’re off again. Richie doesn’t buckle up, he leans forward almost resting his face on Eddie’s seat. “I wanted you to know that I changed my mind and I actually hate you, Eds.”

“Stop calling me, Eds.”

“Ok, Eddie Spaghetti.”

“Definitely, don’t call me that.”

“Eduardo.”

When they reach a stop light, Eddie looks over at Richie almost colliding with his face because he’s too close to him. “Oh I’m sorry, do you want to instead take a trip to the morgue because I’m about to murder you.”

“Please do.”

Eddie rolls his eyes and starts to drive only to slam on the brakes causing Richie to fly off his seat. He yelps in pain and both Eddie and Stan smile. Richie gets back up and Stan helps him buckle up because his stupid arm is a mess.

“You win, Eddie, you fucking win.”

Again, Eddie glances back at Richie even though time around he’s somewhat driving. “I hope so.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Maybe adorable love confessions between Richie and Eddie, maybe not because I can't write adorable. But. I. Try. Also disappointed in this chapter but like I just wanna move forward with this instead of prolonging it because I feel as if I'm prolonging it and everybody either hates me or isn't even reading this. Hi.


	22. Interludes with Mike Hanlon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope you're ready for some muuuuuuuurder

### Interludes with Mike Hanlon

It’s easy to say there’s a lot of weird out there. Not sure if I really thought about what weird means, but weird has been happening a lot here. First, an apology to our loyal listens. I haven’t been the best historian for you all lately, which is to blame on some additional weird drama. 

In short, we are doing our best to visit Maine due to some peculiar stories being reported on the news. My friends and I are from Maine and there we faced a lot of trauma. It was the usual trauma of parents and school bullies, a town so immersed in violence it didn’t notice it. Children died at a higher rate where we’re from, but nobody did anything about it until somebody did. That somebody is somebodies, we did all because a friend named Bill Denborough lost his brother to some cosmic, eldritch evil living thing underneath our homes. Only Bill never really made it out alive in the end of all things. He died. His wife took his body. We hadn’t heard from them and yet some serial killer is out there slashing people to death in the streets of some town in Maine and we gotta go, we gotta go check it out. 

This is your host, Mike Hanlon with his faux Scooby-Gang.

Here is what we know so far:

1\. The murders started over the summer at a summer camp. Classic, as our one friend Richie says. _(Please never quote me again.)_ When a parent had not heard back from their child for two days in a row, they attempted to contact the camp. When they contacted the camp, there was no response. This parent then asked a friend to see if they could get ahold of their child. The story is the same on repeat. No response leading to a group of parents going to the camp. What they found was the sight of a massacre. Children were found dead in their beds and out in the woods. All of them, stabbed to death. The same with the counselors and any camp administrators. Their bodies were left out in the open letting bugs and birds eat away at them. By the time the police arrived, they realized there were ten people unaccounted for who remain unaccounted for upon recording of this podcast.

2\. A month after the bodies were found at the summer camp, a Scout Day was happening in the same woods. Different town though so it seemed irrelevant what happened at the camp. Counselors mention spotting a strange person the night before with a woman with red hair, she was chasing after the stranger and told them they had nothing to fear before the two were gone in the woods. The counselors thought nothing of it. The next morning at breakfast, three girls did not show up. Therefore, a counselor went to their tent finding one girl in her sleeping bag and the two others appeared to be missing. Only it did not take long for the counselor to realize, the girl in the sleeping bag was dead. She’d been stabbed to death, stuffing from the bag was floating all around her. Screams alerted her to the fact that the two other girls had been found. The two were also stabbed to death, it looked as if they attempted to flee the scene only to die on the bath to the toilets.

3\. Not too long after this, a girl was picked up alongside a road with stab wounds. She had been crawling out of the same woods when somebody almost hit her, by accident. He took her to the hospital. Employees were unable to identify her. She had no information on her at the time. She was out cold and the man who brought her in decided to wait. It was a quiet day in the ER, he fell asleep in the waiting room only to wake up to a loud crashing sound. When he got up, he realized, nobody was around, which was odd and the doors leading to the actual ER area were wide open. The man peered back only to find himself vomiting because somebody stabbed a nurse to death there. Not just her. Everybody was dead, they were all dead including the girl and none of it was caught on film. It was as if a ghost when in and out.

4\. The towns in the area are now up in arms because like there is a sadistic killer out there. They were able to start calculating information because people mentioned seeing a strange man in the woods and it wasn’t until somebody else who somehow survived that the police brought them in and were able to get a good sketch. This person’s location remains undisclosed for their protection at this point in time.

I’m going to stop there because I do not have the best sources since this is a building story and it was those sketches that caught our attention. Our friend Bill has been dead for over a year yet it was him staring back at us. And that’s a lot of us. Six of us all agreed that somehow, someway this has to do with Bill and like-like. . .we have to do something about it.

_ [long pause] _

So I hope I remember to edit that out, I really thought Stan, Rich, or Will were gonna say something but then they didn’t. Must be some conspiracy. For this journey, we will be joined by three new friends. One friend from my childhood in Maine, Eddie Kaspbrak.

_“Hi, my name is Eddie.”_

__

__

_“Please don’t talk.”_

Then Will’s sister Eleven Hopper-Byers is joining us with her friend Max Mayfield. I personally hope nobody else joins us because our van is getting a little crowded. We also have an additional pet friend thanks to Eddie who brought Tim the Enchanter along who is terrified of our original dog friend, Dart 2.0.

_“Because Dart isn’t a real dog.”_

__

“Shut it, Eduardo!”

__

“You don’t get to be rude to me, El.”

__

_“Dear Loser Listeners, I’ll have you all know Dart 2.0 is a very lovely and very real dog.”_

It may be awhile before I release another episode. I’ve been disappointed in the last few, and believe you deserve better. In the meantime, I will re-release popular episodes before I have a more concrete story to share for where we are headed to in Maine. This has been Interludes with Mike Hanlon and the faux Scooby Gang. And as always don’t go trip trapping over a bridge if there’s a troll underneath, that’s how you die.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Less murder, more drama.

Richie attempts to remind himself over and over again for as long as he can, _You’ll be ok. You’ll be ok. It’s going to be ok. You’ll be ok._ The thought splits and he looks up at his reflection in the mirror and takes a pill bottle from his back pocket. Even though they’re at a rest stop and the whole damn place is grimy as fuck, Richie cups his hands to scoop some water into his mouth before popping a pill. _You’re not a good person, you were never a good person, you’re not going to be a good person._

Somebody bangs on the door and Richie opens it a crack to see Stan there. “Um can I help you?”

“Yeah, I really gotta like go. . .to the bathroom,” replies Stan.

“Makes sense because I’m in the bathroom. Just one more minute.”

When Richie goes to close the door, Stan puts his foot in the door, forcing it to stay open. “Actually, could I talk to you for a second.”

“No, I have explosive diarrhea and would like to have that in peace.”

“Beep, beep, Richie.”

Richie doesn’t open the door. Instead, he continues to look out at Stan. “Ok, shoot, what?”

“You need to make a decision, you suck. You have to talk to both Eddie and Will about what’s going on in your head right now. It’ll be better in the end.”

Still, Richie stands there and if he were the type of person, he’d probably cry except that’s not him. Also, it doesn’t make sense other than the nerve Stan struck a few seconds ago. He does his best instead to put his best smile on while looking at Stan. “Shut up, Stan the Man, it’s not my fault you’re already hitched. You did that all on your own, which is impressive.”

“You’re deflecting.”

“Yeah, probably because you hit a nerve.” Richie laughs and kicks Stan’s foot away from the door and slams it shut in his face. Richie leans into the doorway looking out at that grimy bathroom. Some fluid is on the floor, that’s gross. And crude graffiti along the walls almost bringing him back to some distant place. Instead, he closes his eyes thinking of something Will told him once. If you count down from five, you can do anything.

So.

**Five.**

But Richie instead thinks of Derry and Eddie and Pennywise and him holding onto Eddie unable to find a single world to say what had just happened but he needs Eddie to be ok, he needs Eddie to be ok, he needs Eddie to be ok and what does Bill say right before he ends up kicking it? _We have to go. You have to leave him._

**Four.**

Will is standing near a giant rubber band ball, biggest there is while picking at cotton candy. He wrinkles his nose as it melts in his mouth hurting some distant cavity. So what does Richie do? He hurries up beside Will reaching out and grabbing onto his cotton candy and pushing it into his mouth.

“What?” Richie had asked while Will stares at him. “Oh shit, was this not for me?”

“No, I bought it.”

“But it’s my birthday!”

“Oh shit! Really?” Will is about to hand the rest of the cotton candy to Richie.

Instead, Richie backs up grinning at Will. “No, I lied and would expect more.”

There’s no trauma.

**Three.**

So much longer ago when Richie and Stan were running late to the Barrens. They’d promised Bill earlier in the day but then Richie got all distracted insisting they needed to stop to swipe some matchsticks because how else would he smoke? Then they showed up surprising some new kid joining them. Not that Richie gave a fuck because Eddie also stood there. It’d take him a while to figure out what the fuck that was about but he still walked right up to Eddie, pinched his cheek and greeted him causing Eddie to say his usual response, “Don’t call me, Eds.”

But the thing was, Richie would call him Eds until death.

**Two.**

The memory breaks thanks to Stan who still bangs on the door. This time, Richie just throws it open yelling, “Ok! Ok! Ok! I’m done.”

His heart hurt. Never able to make one but about to go out into the real world. Just past Stan, Richie could see Will and Eddie chatting with one another while Will walked Dart 2.0 and Eddie had Tim the Enchanter. Any chance Eddie had, he gawked at Dart 2.0 thinking nobody saw him. But his thoughts were always loud and clear, not that Richie let him know.

_Holy fuck! Holy shitballs! What the fuck? _Eds thought anytime he looked at Dart 2.0.

“You’re gonna have to make a decision sooner than later,” Stan says again right as Richie attempts to leave.

Only Richie stops blocking Stan from the bathroom, still. A moment of reality struck Richie and he spat it all out at Stan. “Ok, but look-look what do you do when you were just about denied everything as a kid, loved another kid, a kid who got married, a kid you forgot about, a kid who was the reason to why you couldn’t really move on until one day you cross paths again and remember fuck, fuck this shit, fuck all that fucking shit because. . .” Richie again is so close to those stupid tears, he’d cry, probably in the shower since like nobody could tell at that point. 

Stan whispers, “_Richie_.”

But Richie isn’t gone, he lost his train of thought for a split second because again there is Eddie, there is Eddie almost dying and Eddie in the hospital and then him pretending Eddie never existed all over again. It’s easier that way, right? Right?!

“And then what happens when you meet somebody else and you just fucking connect, fucking connect on a whole different level thinking or maybe even lying to yourself about how everything else would never work out and so you connect with this person on a level you’ll never connect with the prior or anybody else again so then what? Like what?”

Stan puts two hands on Richie’s shoulders. “Hey Rich, please stop.”

“Ok.”

“I really have to pee so please. . .can we talk about this later?”

“I mean like, maybe.”

Stan moves Richie out of the way. “I really hope so.”

Richie stands there watching Stan close the door before looking back at Will and Eddie, still chatting away. Their thoughts and feelings falling into some sort of rhythm that Richie cannot quite define yet. Mike honks the horn of the van begging everybody to move on while Richie just stands there. He does make his way over to Eddie and Will tucking his hands into his front jean pockets.

Will smiles and Eddie is the first to speak up, “Took you long enough.”

“Just explosive diarrhea, so much explosive diarrhea.”

“Gross,” Will whispers.

“How?” asks Eddie.

“Your face,” replies Richie.

Eddie shrugs. “I have that effect on people.” He looks down at his dog Tim the Enchanter who is trying to get a good sniff at Dart 2.0 who of course looks nothing like a dog. “So does he.” 

Without further words, Richie instead climbs into the back of the van. They join him. Dogs and all. Sitting in the back. Stan is the last to get back and they’re off, so close to Maine, so close to where maybe they’ll find Bill until Mike hits the breaks reaching a parking lot for some motel.

Mike and Stan go in to work everything out leaving everybody in the parking lot. Again, Will and Eddie go off to take the dogs for a walk while Richie stands there keeping his hands tucked into his pockets. Bev is the only one who watches him beyond Stan, noticing the deep, deep chaos.

“Um Rich?” Bev starts to ask when everybody returns.

Stan hands a keycard to Richie. “That’s um for you, Will, and Eddie. Good luck.” He continues to distribute cards into various teams.

Richie just walks away with it staring at a little number drawn on the card. This forces Will and Eddie to follow. By the time they make it, Richie scans the card and pulls the door knob about to open it and stops. He looks at Will and Eddie.

“Hey, I’m sorry, but this one bed room is about to get super weird,” but as soon as Richie opens the door, he reveals three beds stuffed into the room. He stares at it. “What the fuck? How is this even possible?!”

Eddie enters first laughing. “You need to be stopped, you’re not funny.”

Will enters. “Rich, I think you’re hilarious, but just not today.”

Richie stands in the doorway looking over to see Stan shrug in response to him before taking off with Patty and Mike to their own room. Richie rolls his eyes and collapses on the middle bed ready to just sleep, sleep for a long time. His foot throbs and his arm hurts. Eddie peers down at him.

“What? No further comment?”

“No, you both have killed me. Good night, Eddie Spaghetti.” Even though he’s in all his clothes he tries to crawl into the blankets. Eddie removes Richie’s glasses and he turns overlooking at will who sits on the opposite bed.

_Do you have pasta nicknames for all your boyfriends?_ Will asks.

_No._ Richie lies there staring at Will. _Just like only two people in this world._

Will has a crooked smile unable to look him in the eye as he lies down. Eddie is already turning off the light because let’s be real, they’re all tired and tomorrow, well, tomorrow it’s all about Bill.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So maybe this is short I'm in a bad mood and tried to write that bad mood away.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter: Pet Sematary

There’s a chill. Strange si he door to the motel room is closed and the heat was turned up a while ago. Richie honestly is no longer used to East Coast fall or winters. The cold is already creeping out to haunt him. He opens his eyes and sits up ready to turn the heat up. The world is blurry and he has to squint to make out what’s up, but the door. . .the door is wide open. That can’t be good.

Richie is about to either get Eddie’s or Will’s attention when he realizes a fourth person is in the room. They’re not alone.

Before he can shout this fourth person puts a hand over his mouth and puts Richie’s glasses so Richie can easily stare at him. Half his face is gone, his brain is spilling out of his broken head, but he still smiles. Somehow Richie gathers enough information to understand that this is a Victor Pascow, which is too close to a name of somebody else he used to know in the Bowers Gang. And Victor Pascow is without a doubt, very dead.

“Follow me,” Victor tells him.

Richie shakes his head no because really, he’s not stupid.

Victor keeps his hand over Richie’s mouth, not letting him speak his mind. “No, you will follow me. It’s important.”

But no, that’s insane. Richie shakes his head again.

“I have to warn you about something, somebody you know is in danger. I’m not here to hurt you but here to warn you. Follow me.” Victor releases Richie and exits the motel room providing no further comment. When Richie reaches over to wake up Will, Victor shakes his head with such anger, Richie is worried his brains might topple out. “Just you. It’s important it’s just you.”

For some reason, Richie accepts this response and is surprised he’s made it this far because he quickly throws his chucks on and follows Victor out of the motel room making sure he closes the door behind him. No need to let all the cold air in for the rest of them. He’s not dressed for it though. His jacket is behind in the room, he’s in some rumpled t-shirt so the whole time Richie violently shivers while Victor leads him into the woods. 

Bad, bad idea. It’s smart to stay out of the fucking forest. There’s even a podcast Richie listens to that warns him of so, it’s where murder happens. And they’re going to look for some brutal serial killer in the forest already. _Stay out of the forest. Stay out of the forest_, and the thought is stuck on repeat in Richie’s mind as he doesn’t stay out of the forest and follows a man with half a face and his brains spilling out.

“So what happened to you?” Richie asks at one point.

No response.

“It’s cool, I’ll make up my own scenario in my head like. . .tiger attack even though bear makes more sense out here.”

Victor stays silent. He walks along an incline with Richie following him. The trees are more frequent here, growing closer to one another. Out of the corner of his eye, Richie is sure he sees floating orbs. He’s seen such a thing before and almost pauses for too long to watch them thinking less about them and more about Eddie hanging over the lighthouse confessing some long lost love. Nothing is a coincidence in their lives, but there sure are a lot of inconveniences. A life of bad timing.

This is when Victor speaks up, “Look straight and be careful where you step. Don’t let it get to you.”

“So don’t let what get to me? Bears? Werewolves? Murderers?”

“Please shut up,” Victor grumbles as he walks around.

“You shut up.”

Richie almost doesn’t listen to look off into the surrounding woods because something large is out there plowing down whole trees. It’s Victor who forces him to look straight and Richie replies, “Oh shit, my bad. I was never good at listening to the rules.”

“You’ll want to here,” retorts Victor before leading the way all over again.

“Got it, I’m now an actual pro at following the directions.” Richie looks right ahead of him as he follows Victory through a swampy area careful not to step in the muddiest areas. Still, mud clings to his feet attempting to suck him deep down into the earth. Each time Richie frees himself and carries on.

Ahead there are little wooden markers, most of them are falling into the ground. A broken sign hangs on a tree branch calling this place: **Pet Semetary**. 

All of those markers, they have pet names scrawled across them or what appear to be pet names because they’re not the best for humans. Victor doesn’t stop, he walks through the peculiar place slowing his pace down enough for Richie to stall and read some of the signs not really getting them. They make their way into a larger clearing and Victor comes to a halt. Richie almost collides with him not realizing how close he had been following by that point.

Victor turns his attention to Richie again who takes a step back. “Whatever you do, you cannot bring William Byers to this location. It wants you to bring him here, but whatever you do, you cannot.”

“Hey, so like do you mind filling me in on where are?” replies Richie. “I mean like, if I don’t know where I am so how can I avoid bringing Will here.”

“This is a place of evil,” continues Victor.

“Ok, cool, but where the fuck are we?!”

“You’ll know when the time comes. A friend of yours came here once, he didn’t quite come back. And if William Byers comes here, only destruction will follow.”

Richie gawks at Victor not really able to find a single word to say. What does somebody say to that fucked up shit? All he can manage or summon up is, “But why Will?”

“You know why.”

Richie looks off to the open area. Some ancient tree had collapsed probably in a time before any of them were around to witness it. Maybe even before Pennywise or probably after. Richie is no scientist. He takes another step backward. “Wait, please, I need to better understand. I need to understand. What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Goodbye,” Victor says. He reaches out pushing Richie backward. 

The world plunges away. He attempts to reach out to grab onto a tree or grab onto Victor but he has nothing to catch. His back instead hits his bag and he sits up shouting realizing, he’s in a motel room. He’d always been in the motel room. Except he sits up there and the world is awful clear because his glasses are on. But like he’s fallen asleep with them before, that sort of shit happens a lot especially on drunken nights.

Both Eddie and Will turn the lights on making the situation worse because Richie realizes his bed is covered in mud. He pulls back his blankets a bit, his chucks are on and of course covered in mud, as well. It’s tracked through the room, from the door straight to his bed.

“Nightmare?” Eddie asks as he yawns then notices the mud. “Um what?”

“Um what, is a very good response,” adds Will. “I’m feeling the same, um what?”

Richie first looks over at Will. “You’re in danger. I think an evil tree wants to kill you.”

Will points at himself and gives Eddie a look mouthing the word _What?_ So Eddie shrugs. Will moves to Richie’s bed and sits down on it away from all the mud. “Why would you say that?”

“Just somebody told me, something to do with Bill I think.”

“What was there name?” asks Eddie.

“Victor Pascow.”

Eddie shudders. “I hate that name.”

“Yeah, but he took me to someplace and was all like William Byers can’t go here, destruction will follow, which is pretty intense and to the point if you ask me so it has to be true.”

“Oh shit,” interrupts Eddie. He points at Will. “I thought your name was Billiam.”

“No, no, you have me confused with your other friend. I’m _W_illiam and he is _B_illiam.”

“That seems like a sound fact.” Eddie moves to sit on Richie’s other side. He doesn’t take off his muddy chucks. “Hey, Rich, I think you just slept walked and had a bad dream. Here, let me fix it.” Eddie gets up grabbing a chair from a little study area and sets it up against the door. “See, if you do it again we can stop you.”

Will pokes Richie’s neck and Richie flicks his hand away. “We should put a cat collar on you with a little bell so we can track you in case you escape again.”

Only Eddie laughs because irritation is growing by a lot inside Richie. This is all fucking legit, and he doesn’t know how to translate how yet. Eddie goes on, “I like that idea. Do you think Amazon Prime delivers to vans?”

Will shrugs grabbing onto his phone. “I don’t know, but we should find out.”

“Stop! Stop! Stop! I need you both to just stop for a fucking second because I’m being serious. I fucking swear that I’m being fucking serious, which is saying a lot because when am I ever like that.” Richie turns to look right at Will. “I’m fucking serious about being worried about you.”

“Probably because for a little shit you’re secretly genuine,” Eddie says. He’s still standing by the door. “You worry too much. You should take your shoes off.”

But Richie isn’t ready to abandon this. “Will, Eddie, please just fuck the shut up right now because-because. . .I bet Mike can fucking support me. He likes investigating things. We’ll have him look up people with the name Victor Pascow who have died.”

“Died? What are you talking about?” Will asks.

Eddie is curious as well, he returns to sit back next to Richie. “You failed to mention that little fact earlier.”

“I don’t know, he looked dead. Some head injury. I’ll call Mike now to get to the bottom of this.”

But Will stops him from grabbing onto his phone. “It’s late. Ask him tomorrow. But I’m sure both Eds and I can do a Google search for this Victor.”

“You also don’t get to call me Eds. It’s Eddie, Eddie. Why is it so hard to remember Eddie?”

Will leans forward a bit looking right at Eddie with a smirk. “Eds.” He looks back at his phone Googling the name. It’s a pretty quick search because articles are quick to pop up in the local news. Will reads a few of them and puts his phone back, turning it over so he can’t see the screen at all. “Um so about three years ago it looks like a Victor Pascow was hit by a car and lost his life.”

“Where?” Richie demands.

Will gulps. “Um where we’re headed to look into um. . .”

“The murders,” Eddie finishes. “Earlier than the murders but seems like the same area.”

“Bad shit goes down in the forest.” Richie sighs and collapses back in his bed. “This has been cool and all. We should discuss this in the morning because I’m exhausted. I think I walked several miles in the forest.”

“Richie. Shoes.” Eddie points at them. And Richie kicks them off on the ground. “This can’t be good, right?”

Except Richie rolls over to hide his face in his pillows to avoid talking further on the topic. He needs time to think and think on his own and not think in front of them because he’s too expressive of a person if anybody looks at his face too close.

This leaves Will sitting there looking up at Eddie. “No, I don’t think so. This isn’t going to be good.”

Will climbs back into his bed about to hide under his blankets. Eddie stays put watching him saying, “We’re good at figuring shit out and dealing with other supernatural fuckery. No matter what happens, we got your back.” 

A few seconds pass before Will responds with such a surprised, “Thanks.” This all even gets an actual smile from Will before shutting off his light.

Eddie sits there for a bit longer. He looks at Richie who keeps his face under the pillows, about to sleep with his glasses on. Eddie moves to his bed turning the lights off and lies there realizing, how the fuck is he supposed to sleep after that mess?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I read this book and tried to mimic an early scene. Too bad I don't own a copy since I've only ever borrowed it from the library. But pls enjoy, I hope this is somewhat creepy? I promise shit will happen. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did writing it. ^_^
> 
> Also I feel like Richie would love My Favorite Murder, not for the true crime but the comedy.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie and Mike have run off after Richie had some sort of premonition leaving everybody behind to do their own detective work to find them.
> 
> Casually dropping off some major hints to where this is probably going.
> 
> Start prepping for some awful Pet Sematary action, too, I guess or like murder.

By the time Eddie wakes up, Richie is gone. It’s just him and Will who is trying his best to clean the mud from the blankets. Will stops. He was standing in the bathroom, in the tub with is pant legs folded up so the water won’t touch them.

“I um didn’t want us to get charged extra,” Will says. “That and who knows what other messes people who work here come across. I’d rather not add to that.”

Eddie stays sitting up in his bed. “Makes sense.”

Will struggles to hang up the blankets over the shower curtain so Eddie comes over to help him. Once it’s there for good, Will faces Eddie. “Did you really mean all what you said last night? About having my back?”

“It’d be rude if I didn’t, right?”

“Ok, but I'd also forgive you if you hate me because I hated you for a good few minutes.”

“A few minutes? How many minutes is that?”

“Um 120 minutes?”

Eddie backs away saying “Wooooow, you’re a little rude, Will. Somehow I didn’t think you had it in you to be rude.”

Will looks down smiling at the ground. “Yeah, turns out I’m no Trashmouth Tozier.”

“Why do you do that?” Eddie asks. “You look down all the time like that. Why?”

Still, Will looks down definitely not about to look up. His face is too bright red. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Hm, yeah, makes sense. We did just meet.” Eddie pauses. “Anyway, I need you to leave.”

Will’s attention snaps up as he mouths _What?_ For a whole split second, he thought this was about to take a whole different turn.

“Yeah, you really gotta go because I gotta go.” Eddie points at the toilet. “And I’d rather do that alone.”

“Yeah, yeah, makes sense.” Will pushes his way out of the bathroom, but Eddie doesn’t let him quite leave all the way. Instead, Eddie catches his one hand forcing Will again to turn around and look over at him. “Um sorry, but what?”

“Hey, where’s Richie?” 

“Oh, yeah. I think he left earlier this morning to go do some research with Mike. It’s my best guess because looks like the mystery van is gone out there and he mentioned it last night. Only Mike, Patty, or Stan drive it and well, Stan usually gets up early to go bird watching while Patty sleeps in.”

“So how long have you known each other?”

Will looks down at how Eddie still hangs onto his hand. He does look up at Eddie. Those cheeks of his still bright red. So much embarrassment. So much embarrassment. “Um, really only Stan, Patty, and Mike for a while. I was living in New York for a bit when we all crossed paths almost a year ago, and here we are.”

“What the fuck? You actually left New York for this? That sounds like some actual bull shit. Who are you really, Will Byers?”

“Ok, it wasn’t really my place, and um something about them reminded me of some old friends so we all super connected and here we are. Then I met Richie, Bev, and Ben over the summer, I think.”

Eddie shrugs as if this is an acceptable answer. Right when Will is about to ask if this has been some sort of weird test, Eddie releases him slamming the bathroom door shut in his face. Will stands on the opposite side for probably too long, a creepy amount of time before he decides to do a quick change to prepare for the rest of the day. Patty sent him a text at some point that there was some motel breakfast, which didn’t sound charming at all. 

When Eddie leaves the bathroom, Will tucks his phone away looking over at him. “Um, apparently there’s some complimentary breakfast here.”

“Eew sounds like a good way to die,” replies Eddie.

“My thoughts exactly.” Will looks at the floor chuckling at this. “We can go together if you want? I mean, I’m ready to go now but can wait for you to change.”

Eddie shrugs. “I’ll just change later. Left my stuff in the van, anyway. So death breakfast it is.”

Will leans into the door opening it. “Can’t wait to eat death-breakfast together.”

After that, the two don’t talk as they make their way along one of the motel walkways to the so-called lobby. It’s really a few fold-up chairs and tables set up. Smells more like burnt coffee than anything and burnt something else to make the situation a whole lot worse. There’s a little thing for coffee at the front desk leaving another small table set up with boxes of cereal without milk or something to pour it in, a toaster that has seen better days without bread waiting beside it but at least there’s some butter melting into a little plate present, in the event bread shows up.

Bev, Ben, and Patty are sitting at a table. They all wave. “Join us!” Patty announces as she goes to pull one of the tables closer to theirs. 

Bev is sipping her coffee while Ben does the same but grimaces each time he does so. Will picks up some off-brand marshmallow cereal and turns around facing them with it. He points at it while pretending to gag.

Eddie sits down smirking at Will. “I think you should eat it so we can see what happens. It’s only science if we start to write it down.”

“Speaking of science,” comments Patty pointing to the doorway when Stan comes in. He has a little notebook he’s scrawling a way in with binoculars hanging around his neck. “Anything of interest out there?”

“No, unless you consider Mike and Richie arguing so early in the morning and scaring birds off as interesting.”

“I don’t,” replies Patty.

“Did you catch what they were arguing about?” Will is a little preoccupied with the cereal. He plucks some colorful marshmallows out that seem to melt at his touch. He reaches out pressing one of them into the back of Eddie’s hand. “It’s a star, get it, because you’re a star.”

“Please never touch me again.” Eddie shakes his hand trying to get it off.

Stan sits down with them and Will sticks some unknown marshmallow shape onto the back of his hand. Stan glares at him and uses Patty to wipe it off. “Gross. And I don’t know, something about how Richie wants to split up and leave some of his behind. Some reconnaissance or something that has to happen.”

“Richie wouldn’t do that,” Eddie interrupts. “He wouldn’t just leave us like that.” It’s almost hilarious, more hilarious than Richie’s stand-up routine. But it’s all such a fucking lie, nobody calls him out on it. Instead, Will presses a heart marshmallow into Eddie’s forehead. “What did I just say about touching me?”

“I’ve learned from the best on not how to listen to the rules.”

“Richie?”

“No, um. . .Lucifer.”

Eddie makes no comment. Bev hands him a napkin so he can clean off his face. “Trust me though, Richie wouldn’t up an leave us. Not now. Not after what happened last night.”

“Ooooh?” Bev perks up. “Please do tell.” She finishes her coffee. “You have my full interest.”

“It’s not like that,” Will fills in for Eddie who is at a loss for words. “Richie slept walked right out of the room. No idea where he went, but he made a huge mess and he told us about how he was lead out there by some random guy who died around here three years ago.”

“I’m sorry, but could you repeat that,” Bev says. “I don’t think I followed because it didn’t involve sex.”

“Bev,” mutters Ben. “Don’t push it.”

“Last night, Richie woke us up. He was a mess as in a literal muddy mess, he said some story about some guy named Victor Pascal or something like that who visited him, took him to some place then said to Richie that whatever happens he can’t bring Will there,” Eddie finishes. “That seems important, he wouldn’t just up and leave Will or me after that.”

Will wrinkles his nose as he licks a melted marshmallow then speaks up, “But he would. He seemed pretty upset about it. He didn’t know the Victor guy died around here, too. I looked it up. But he was pretty dramatic, Victor and Richie, about me going some place and destruction following.”

Stan turns his attention to Eddie. They look at each other with a link a little deeper than the rest of them at the table. “But it’s not like it’s the first time he’d do something like that. What about the time just him and Bill went to Neibolt Street and that werewolf attacked them?”

“Ok, but this is different!” snaps Eddie. “It’s different, right? It has to be different because that was different and we were just a bunch of fucking kids.”

“I don’t know, I wasn’t there,” Will whispers. “I’ve also never even heard of that place.”

It’s Bev who says it even though Eddie is thinking it and Stan would’ve said something, but he’s also to blame in this situation. “Richie never told you about Neibolt Street?”

“No, he didn’t, but he also didn’t mention Eddie to me,” says Will. “So that’s two strikes against him.”

“None of us have really talked about Derry,” Stan speaks up. “I mean, would you?”

It’s not directed at Will, but he mutters, “I talk about Hawkins.”

Bev looks at Ben taking his coffee from him. “Can’t say I ever really thought about it.”

El and Max are the last to come in. Max is wearing a pair of big, red sunglasses, she comes and sits on top of a table only for it to give way and collapse. El stands beside Will who gives her a shapeless melted marshmallow. He looks up at her. “That’s because I love you.”

El stares at it and looks over Will. “You are strange.”

“I know.”

Max stands up looking at them. “Where’s your asshat boyfriend, Will? Hope you got rid of him.”

“Stop.” It’s Will who says it rather than Eddie or anybody else. “Don’t say that, and he’s probably at the library with Mike doing some research.”

“Sorry, didn’t realize I’d hit a nerve.” Max walks over to the coffee pot going to pour it but it's more like grime pours out of it. “Look if you’re wondering where your friends went, I’m sure El can find them.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Stan asks.

El smiles. “We should go to my room.”

There’s no time for anybody to respond because El takes off. She leads everybody upstairs as they had to hurry out of the lobby area. Will falls in step with Eddie. He offers some cereal to him.

“No, thanks, I plan on living.” Eddie pushes it away. “Maybe when I’m feeling more depressed I’ll take you up on the offer.”

“Wonderful.” Will eats a few more marshmallows. They enter El’s motel room with the rest. Max turns the TV on to white noise and sets up a white noise machine, as well. Meanwhile, El wraps a bandana around her eyes from her bag. Will leans closer to Eddie whispering, “This is gonna be pretty cool.”

“So are you guys like the X-Men?” Eddie replies.

“Something like that.”

“Better than the Hellfire Club, I guess. That’d suck.”

Will snorts almost spitting out a marshmallow. “Nice Phoenix Saga reference, a personal favorite of mine. But I feel like El’s one sister, Kali, she’s more Hellfire than us. Not that you know her, but She’s the one who causes the illusions and like low key Rich on a good day.” Because of Eddie’s expression, Will adds for him. “I’ll fill you in later, if he doesn’t.”

For some reason, Eddie finds himself smiling at this. “Hey, looks like we have more in common than I thought on the Phoenix Saga thing not the whole California sister thing.”

“Kali.”

“Sorry, Kali.” Eddie points at his head. “I’ll pretend to remember that. If you were an X-Men who would you be though, that’s the more important question.”

El won’t let Will answer the question. She shushes them all and Max puts a finger to her lips. El sits down thinking very hard. She puts a hand out saying “Will.” He comes closer taking her hand and closes his eyes. She lets his hand rest in the palm of her hand as the world becomes darker just for her. This leaves everybody else sitting around watching and waiting without a statement. Only Eddie moves, he comes closer to Will leaning in waiting for what happens next.

In all of this, El stands alone in the darkness. It’s as if there are two of her. Her and her reflection in the water. El starts to move forward, she shouts, “Richie?” Nothing. Her voice bounces all around the place, and she’s out there all alone. “Richie? Richard?”

He’s somewhere else. It looks far, almost hard to pick out where he stands. Mike is with him and the van is broken down on the side of the road. Richie looks at some house that’s falling into the ground only for some giant truck to fly past startling him. Mike also jumps, dropping his phone, which breaks when it hits the ground. Richie glances at him before looking back at the one house then across the road at another house, also abandoned. Looks like it had a for sale sign at one point, instead, the for sale sign is face first into the ground.

When Mike speaks, his words are so unclear, but so is the scene as it fades. El stands there looking at them. It’s as if they’re in the water. Richie’s words are loud though, she can make them out. “Fuck, Mike, I actually think we’re here.” Somehow El catches one last image of a curtain being pushed back in the abandoned home they’re closest to, the one touching the woods. Some shadow looks out at them.

El slides the bandana off her eyes looking at Will and Eddie first before looking up. “Not library.”

“Where are they?” asks Stan and Bev at the same time.

“Wherever he mentioned last night,” Eddie whispers leaning super close to Will and El. “We have no idea where, but he said somewhere evil. What did it look like? Did you see?”

Even though El shakes her head, she has a response. “Woods, two abandoned houses, big road for trucks.”

“What the actual fuck!” snaps Eddie. “That could be anywhere.”

“No, we can figure out where.” Will looks back at Eddie putting a hand on his knee. He lets go of El’s hand. “We go to where that man died. I looked it up, right? So I bet we can find an obituary for a funeral home then get a lot closer that way.”

“How the fuck are we supposed to do that without a van? That and we have dogs with us unless they’re with them. Did you see if Tim the Enchanter is with them, El?”

“You don’t know where your own dog is?” Bev asks. “Isn’t that a problem?”

“It is now.”

“I think that’s always been a problem.” Ben who is so quiet speaks up.

“Tim was with me this morning,” Stan says. “Not Dart.”

This causes Will’s smile to broaden. “If Dart is with them, I can find them.”

Eddie stands up. “Perfect because I’m gonna kick Richie’s fucking ass.”

“Me, too.” Will bites his lower lip feeling like he maybe said too many jokes.

“We can tag team.” Eddie awkwardly puts a hand up for a high five and Will touches his palm. “We’ll have to work on that.”

“You two, shut up.” Max grabs onto her suitcase. “We gotta book it before those two idiots do something super stupid.”

Will heads to the door. “I need a moment alone though to look for Dart.” He tries to leave alone but Eddie is sure to follow him close with distant thoughts of Will in the closet back at the other place and Richie keeping an eye out for him. Will heads down stairs super quick. “I don’t need your help.”

“I think you do,” Eddie corrects him.

“What makes you say that?”

“Richie helped you before and Richie isn’t here because he’s some big fucking hero out of nowhere. Why couldn’t he just stay being some unreliable cunt?”

Will squints at Eddie “Wait, do you really mean that? You don’t mean that. Shut up.” 

“Anyway, he’s gone so I’m here to help you. I also am fan-fucking-tastic when it comes to first aid so maybe if you almost die, I can stop you from dying. You could still die though, just saying, no guarantee.”

When Will reaches the bottom of the steps he sighs and turns around to look up at Eddie or really right off to the side of Eddie. “Um ok, I um hope I don’t die in your arms tonight then.” 

“I don’t think you realize what that song means.”

“I um guess I don’t?” Will smiles real quick at Eddie before returning to the lead as they head back to the room ready to find Dart 2.0 to find Richie and Mike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Goals: Be cuter. Is this cute? I don't know how to write cute.
> 
> If you are here still reading this, I hope it's overall good and you wanna keep reading because that'll make my heart soar because I know how I want it to end and hope ppl are into that journey.
> 
> P.S. I also somewhat have no idea which X-Men Will would be?


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Audra and a Man in an Iron Mask in a Pet Semetary. Oh snap.

"I'm pretty sure this is it." Richie signals for Mike to follow a little closer while he points at an incline. "I'm not wrong this time."

"Ok I don't trust you because you've said that five times already," comments Mike. 

"This is different."

Mike shakes his head. "And when I say that you say that every single time. Is nothing you say original?"

But Richie is off making his way further into the woods. Mike groans and checks to make sure he has cell service. From a bag, he ties a little piece of neon pink plastic to a branch before following Richie. There is no way he was gonna get his sorry ass lost in these woods cause of some guy people still called Trashmouth Tozier. 

This time around though, Richie win on the point of being right. They arrived at a small clearing with little broken Graves and a crooked sign that claimed: **Pet Semetary**.

Mike points at the sign. "I don't like that."

"Try being led here by some dead guy, and with a broken foot" retorts Richie while poking at the boot he wears, wrinkling his nose at the pain. It’s at least a low throbbing sort. 

"Touche, but more on the second." Mike stalls trying to make out some of the names on the broken spots while Richie sits underneath the sign. "So why can't we bring Will here? It's some kid's place, sad but a kid's place."

Richie pulls a flask out taking a swig and offers it to Mike who shakes his head. "Ok, so first, we're actually not there yet, but close. Then two, the Barrens was our kids' place. Look where that got us, in debt in therapy bills."

"You go to therapy?"

Richie shrugs. "I um did, but it's not really up for discussion."

"Because of Pennywise?"

Richie has no response and takes a big swig. 

"Bowers Gang?"

Richie tucks his flask away. "Look, I said I didn't want to talk about it and like yeah somewhat but also it was more therapy for some conversion therapy shit that happened a long time ago. I don't want to talk about it. I wanna sit here and think about these dead animals then keep going after my sad foot catches a break."

Mike looked away from Richie. He sat some dead flowers upright again on a grave plot for some animal named Chubby. "Sorry that I asked. Just I investigate too much, it's just the historian in me."

"Cool. But investigate later to write my biography when I'm dead."

"I really didn't mean to offend…"

But Richie leaned forward muttering some nonsense into his knees before looking up. "For fucks sake, man, just let it go already. It's in the fucking past now when we have a future for Will to think about."

Mike starts to nod growing uncomfortable, he reaches down to fix another grave markers. "Makes sense, he was my friend first."

"Yes! Love the way you think, Mike."

“You ready to go yet? Foot is ok.” Mike stands a whole lot closer to Richie about to force him back up to his feet. “I’m hungry and would like to be done sooner than later.”

“I might have a cracker in my pocket.”

“I don’t want that.”

“Yeah, same.” Richie puts his hands out so Mike can pull him to his feet. “Let’s go, we’re almost there.”

Except they’re not alone, some branches snap causing Mike to reach out putting an arm in front of Richie. He whispers, “Get down.” Richie nods crouching down beside Mike. More branches break and Richie opens his mouth about to get into what Victor warned him not to let it get to you. Yet Mike grabs onto Richie using his hand to cover his mouth. “If you say anything, I’m shoving leaves into your mouth.”

Something drags itself out from beyond the trees into the clearing, their one leg all crooked from a bad break that never healed. Whoever or whatever it is wears a metal mask leaving the two losers at a loss to identify them. He holds onto some machete, which is a pretty shitty sign for the two. Mike signals for Richie to move toward the left away from where the thing appears to be headed.

When Mike releases Richie, Richie inches toward the edge Mike pointed at. He stays real low kicking up some leaves, which break apart hitting Mike’s nose causing him to sneeze almost losing his weird balance as he attempts to run and crawl after Richie. Whoever else is out there does not miss a beat, they swing around grabbing onto a knife flinging it into Mike’s arm.

“Oh fuck, you just got hit!” Richie yells only for this masked person to charge at him. “Oh shit.” 

Richie jumps up pushing Mike to the ground before grabbing onto one of the branches on the ground. He goes to swing it at the masked guy’s face, but the man kicks Richie in the chest knocking him over. He slams into the ground, rocks causing his breath to burst free from his lungs. Richie looks right at the mask as the machete comes down at him, Richie moves, just barely missing him. Still pain sparks so much more between his shoulder and his foot. 

The man in the mask slowly stands up collecting his weapon and looks over at Mike who still has the knife in his arm. He sits there about as unhelpful as ever while gawking at their new villain "friend." Whoever it is takes off in the direction they started without causing any more damage. 

With him gone, Richie continues to lie there growing in pain. He turns his head to look over at Mike, "I um don't think I can get up."

"That sucks because same." Mike uses his good arm to reach into his pocket for his phone. He is about to dial 911 or Stan when he realizes, no signal. He collapses into the leaves. "Rich, we're shit out of luck."

Richie doesn't sit up. He presses a hand to his now bruised chest. "I'm glad you got hurt, to be honest. I am was tired of being the only injured one."

"Beep, beep, Richie."

There's the cock of a gun and Richie looks up a bit to see a woman standing there holding onto one while glaring at them. "You shouldn't be here!" she snaps.

"Audra?" blurts Mike. 

She lowers the gun a bit. "Who's asking?" But she follows up her question with, "Wait! Don't I know you two."

"I don't think so, Audrey, or you only know Mike."

Mike sits back up. "Beep, beep!" He glares at Richie who is too busy making sense of Audra. "We're Bill's friends."

"Oh fuck! We do know each other!" Richie starts to laugh. “The wife!”

Audra continues to stare at them with her gun pointing down. “Can you walk?”

“No, I need you to carry me,” Richie replies.

“I’m married,” she comments.

“And he’s in a relationship,” Mike interrupts, “and also his foot is actually broken.”

“I need to be hoisted up and carried away to safety,” continues Richie.

“What are you doing out here?” It’s Audra’s turn. She raises her gun again pointing it at them. Richie finally sits up giving Mike a look. “Why are you here?”

“That’s sort of a weird story that we can tell you at the hospital,” replies Richie.

Even though Mike is the one bleeding, he gets to a different point. “Why are you here?!”

“I live here. You passed my house on my way in, and when I didn’t see you for awhile, I went to see if you were ok. Dangerous parts, out here.”

“Does it have anything to do with that Leonardo Dicaprio looking fella?” Richie smirks at Mike.

Mike shakes his head. “What-What are you even talking about?”

“That guy who tried to kill us, that one Dicaprio movie from like his _Titanic_ days. I don’t remember what it’s called.”

Mike rolls his eyes. Audra comes over to help him up first. Mike yells over her shoulder at Richie, “It’s literally called _Man in the Iron Mask_.”

“Oh shit, spot on.” Richie takes Audra’s one hand as she helps him up. “We legit should really go to the hospital and I think you have way more explaining to do than us.” But Audra doesn’t move. She glares at Richie still holding up her gun, pointing it at him. He gradually raises his one arm realizing they’re sort of stuck there together. “Oh um. . .my other arm will re-dislocate if I move it.”

Audra points her gun at Mike, too, but he’s too busy holding onto his knife wound. “Whatever. You both are coming with me. Come on. We gotta go.” She signals for them to walk back the way they came. The whole time she points the gun at their backs as they move through the woods. 

Richie inches closer to Mike and whispers, “I got this.”

“No, Rich, no. Please. . .don’t,” replies Mike.

But then Richie trips almost falling face first, cursing into the leaves. Mike actually sighs with relief, he was afraid for a second of whatever plan Richie had concocted. Audra comes up closer behind Richie. “Come on! Get up! I need you two to keep moving out.”

“Hold on! Broken foot, remember!” Richie gasps as he stays crouched their for a few seconds longer than he does his best to whip around, facing her holding onto his little gun.

“Not the prostitute gun!” Mike groans.

“It’s a little gun, not a prostitute gun,” retorts Richie.

“I’ll shoot you!” Audra yells. “I really mean it, too!”

“Wow! Cool! Same! I’ll fucking shoot you, too! It’s why I have a gun!”

While standing there in a mini stand-off, Audra starts to tremble, which Richie takes as an opportunity to make his move. He fires his gun, but right above her at a tree. Wood splinters down. She throws herself at the ground screaming in the mess. He stumbles forward mouthing the words _go, go, go, go_ at Mike who takes off running a hell of a lot faster than Richie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hoping for like a lot of upcoming action (and heartbreak).


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie and Mike appear to be missing.

It’s not like the truck is close, but Bev still leaps out of the way like she’s about to get hit. Some giant 18 wheeler hurtles down the road. Everybody is a lot closer, but she had to move away. Her heart rate was rising too fast being out there. It’d be too easy to get hit by a car or clipped by a car. She once knew a guy who was out riding their bike without a helmet, a truck flew past him, didn’t notice him, the side mirror hit him in the head and knocked him off the bike, he died later that day from the head injury.

Bev looks at one of the houses they stand close to. It looks pretty empty like it forgot what it was like to have people live inside. Behind her she overhears everybody else chatting and mainly Will complaining that Dart 2.0 is present while Mike and Richie appear to be missing. She turns her attention to the woods and glances over her shoulder at them.

“Wait, hold on,” she announces causing everybody to shut up even Eddie shuts up, and he’s in the middle of the sentence. She smiles at her own little power because not many can get Eddie to shut it, and look at this power move. At first, Bev doesn’t say anything else and before anybody can shout out a warning she turns around punching someone in the face. Bev gasps as she shakes her hand. Whoever it is lies on their back, also, she did that, which is pretty impressive. “I don’t appreciate people sneaking up on us.”

Eddie and Ben run over to Bev while the rest stay by the abandoned van. “Holy shitballs, it’s Audra!” Eddie shouts for all of them to hear.

“Some of us don’t know who Audra is,” Max shouts back.

Stan raises a hand. “This is me seconding that.”

Bev stares down at the woman she punched in the face. Her hair is auburn turning white and tangled with dirt and leaves. For a split second, Bev feels almost as if she punched herself. Not pain wise, just in a single glance the woman is her then she’s not and Bev remembers, Bill’s wife. Bev reaches down helping her to her feet. El and Will have arrived behind her while Eddie and Ben stand on either side of her.

“How did you know to just punch like that?” Eddie asks.

“Trade secret, I’m afraid,” Ben tells Eddie.

“Ok, did everybody get superpowers but me.”

“I don’t have superpowers either,” Ben whispers.

El begins to raise her hand and Will hits her hand away. He speaks up for the rest of them. “We’re looking for two of our friends, that’s their van over there.”

“Real annoying?” replies Audra still on the ground.

Bev eyes her gun, it’s almost lost in the leaves. “Well, one of them is real annoying the other isn’t.”

“Were you going to shoot us?” Will asks pointing out the gun, which is all on their mind.

“Yes,” whispers Audra. 

She watches Ben kick it away from them, which forces Eddie to shout, “Don’t do that! What if it went off.”

“_Eds_,” Will snaps, but he keeps his voice real low. He also gets Eddie to stop, which is another amazing feat because typically everybody had to roll their eyes at him always and always saying, “Don’t call me Eds” or something along those lines.

“Why were you going to shoot us?” Bev continues the interrogation. “I mean, if you were married to Bill, you still count as one of our friends.”

Audra bites down on her lower lip glaring up at all of them. “I’d only shoot if you went into the woods. It’s dangerous out there.”

Bev leans forward plucking a leaf from her hair. “Let me guess, our annoying friend and our good friend were out there.” Audra nods in response. “Well, we’re gonna have to go find them.”

Audra huffs. “You won’t. They’re long gone.”

“Did you kill them?” snaps Eddie. Will touches Eddie’s shoulder. “Or hurt them?”

“Not me. No. I bet you can find them at the hospital. I tried to find them, but looks like they were headed that way. If they made it.” Audra goes to stand up, but Bev isn’t having it. She puts her foot against Audra’s shoulder keeping her down. “What?”

“That was a little ominous, what’s that supposed to mean? _If they made it_?”

Audra rolls her eyes and looks off at the house there. “I said it’s dangerous out there. There are things out there. Just go check the hospital, I’m sure they’re fine. He didn’t seem invested in killing them.”

Will and Eddie give each other a look while Bev and Ben do the same and they all direct their attention back at Audra. Poor El stands alone with them. “I’m sorry, but what do you mean by _he_?” Bev is all game on leading this whole questioning session.

“Just. . .I don’t know. . .what’s out there. . .”

“The killings,” El whispers like they all somehow forgot why they were headed this way.

“Somebody get Stan, Max, or Patty to call the hospital,” Bev says. “It’ll be the quickest way to find them.”

“Or El can,” mentions Will.

Bev looks at El and smiles. “True, but why waste your time doing any of that if they’re a call away. If they’re not well. . .yeah.”

Eddie doesn’t really give anybody else the option of calling the hospital. First, he dials Richie. Goes straight to voicemail. Second, he dials Mike. If this doesn’t work, third he plans to dial the hospital when Mike does in fact answer. “What the fuck?” Eddie shouts it serves as his hello. “Where are you?”

Mike replies, “Can’t talk now, sorry. At the morgue.” The phone plummets from Eddie’s phone and he whirls around to face Will first. When he grabs the phone again, it’s true. Mike hung up. Hung up so fast after saying: I’m in the morgue.

“What?” asks Will.

Eddie continues to stare, gawking at Will. “Rich-Richie. . .he’s dead.”

“WHAT?” shouts Will.

Eddie looks down at his phone trying to find words, any sort of word to speak or scream or shout to make sense of what had happened. He clings to it and looks up again. Will is stumbling backward from him. El supports him, she doesn’t let him walk any closer to the woods. It looks as if he’s tottering that way.

“And Mike just casually said that to you?” Bev asks shaking her head.

“He said. . .he’s in the morgue.”

Will looks as if he’s about to pass out as he sinks to the ground, El continues to support him.

###

“Who was that?”

Mike is leaning into a filing cabinet with a small flashlight in his mouth. He pulls it out looking over at Richie who is standing in the middle of the morgue eating a piece of pie.

“Where did you get that?” Mike asks.

“Oh, I found it sitting over there.” Richie points at an empty table close to the door.

“I don’t think you should eat that.”

But already Richie is standing there scooping some pie into his mouth. “How come?”

Mike wrinkles his nose. “Nevermind.” He is about to return to the files when he remembers the first question. “Oh, just Eddie. Wanted to know where we are.”

“And you just said ‘in a morgue?’” blurts Richie actually spitting some pie out onto Mike. He sneers at it and brushes it away from himself. “You didn’t think about what that might sound like, did you?”

“Oh. Yeah.” Mike pulls his phone out again dialing Eddie back.

###

The split-second Mike calls again Eddie answers about to start screaming. How could he let anything happen to Richie like that? In all of this, Audra says nothing. She sort of curls further into herself hoping nobody asks her what happens. At least, Mike is faster to answer than Eddie to find words.

“Oh hey, doing _research_ in the morgue with _Richie_. Why do you ask?”

This time Eddie screams flinging his phone away from himself before looking back at everybody else. “They’re both fine! Nobody is dead! He said they’re doing research in a morgue, him and Richie.”

One very, very, very long escapes Will as he leans forward to bury his face into his knees. This gives him a moment to himself. Eddie stares at the woods thinking about how his cell is now gone, which would probably lead to different issues at some other point.

Bev again takes the conversation lead. She helps Audra to her feet. “You’re coming with us to the hospital.” She signals for Ben to follow. The three are about to leave when Bev comes over to El. “I think you should come with us, I need help figuring out where the hospital is in case Audra doesn’t help.”

“Don’t you have a GPS?” asks Audra but Bev starts to push her away.

El looks from Will to Eddie and hops up to follow. Each step she takes away, she looks back at them until Ben slows down a bit more to block her. This leaves Eddie and Will by themselves. Eddie sits next to Will who hasn’t moved from his curled up position.

“Hey,” Eddie says, “So that was. . .hilarious.”

Will sits up glaring at him.

“I bet Mike would make a better stand-up comedian than Richie.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This might be the last one for a bit. Got all sorts of big school projects and work projects I should focus on instead (and like a manuscript to edit).
> 
> But pls still comment and if you love this enough and want more, let me know. I'd be so happy.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some Mike research time and Richie being a shit.

Richie sits on a metal table still picking at the pie he found. When Mike turns around, he almost drops all the files he's holding. "Rich! You don't wanna sit on that."

"Why?"

"Because we're in a morgue and that's where dead people go."

"Ok, but I'm tired and my foot hurts and there are no chairs. I've been closer to death before, this has at least been sanitized."

Mike shakes his head and starts to lie our the files onto the table around Richie. When he opens one there's a victim who had been stabbed to death. Richie puts the pie to the side no longer hungry. Mike pulls out the coronary report of the person and each of the following people. Each time Mike takes a photo with his phone before jotting down some quick notes while marking up a mini map of the area. 

"What are you doing?"

"Looking for a pattern."

"What if there is no pattern?"

Mike bites the end of his pencil looking up at Richie. "Then we use you and your bad luck as bait."

"Sweet. Classic Shaggy role."

The door swings open behind them while somebody is on the phone. Whoever it is stops in the doorway lowering the phone right after he says, “I’ll call you back.” When he hangs up, he yells at them, “Who are you? What are you doing here? Is that my pie?”

“No, I brought this from home,” Richie replies and continues to eat. The man doesn’t move from the doorway while waiting for a better explanation. “Oh right, we’re. . .the interns.”

“I don’t have any interns,” says the man.

Richie looks from Mike to the man. “Um but you do, we’re you’re interns.”

“I’m gonna call security,” the man says.

“Shit, my mom is gonna be so mad. . .”

The man looks at him. “Aren’t you like 40?”

“I’m sorry, just because I’m 40, I’m not allowed to have a mom?”

The man shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry. . .”

“It’s ok, she’s dead anyway.”

“Richie!” snaps Mike.

The man tucks his phone away and looks like he’s about to accept them. He takes one slow step forward and stops again while gawking at them. Richie takes another bite of pie and Mike starts to collect the folders to put them back before the man makes it over to them only he collapses face first. Blood is puddling around him while a knife is sticking from his back.

“Oh fuck. . .” says Richie dropping the pie looking up at Mike “. . .that can’t be good.”

“Fucking run, Richie.” Mike looks around for another line of exit. Nobody else is down there, just them and a whole lot of dead people.

“I can’t!” Richie points at his foot.

Whoever they saw out in the woods rounds the corner holding onto a machete, which really sucks.

“Changed my mind, I can.” He jumps off the table realizing, Mike is gone. He’s out the door on the other side of the room marked emergency and probably evil dead murderer was a good enough emergency. Opening the door triggered some alarm, it’s blaring down. Richie pauses watching this murderer in a mask pull the knife from the back of the random man.

Before Richie makes a run for it, he throws the table he had been sitting on at the murderer. More of a big shove of the table, but he does it and shouts, “Eat shit!” Mike is back dragging him away towards the emergency door. Mike grabs onto the fire alarm lever and pulls it along the way causing way more of a ruckus.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I sort of lost my groove due to finals and hate this but here it is and I'm hoping to get back to feeling inspired/writing all over again.


	29. Chapter 29

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will starts acting pretty weird.

Bev climbs out of the car unable to peel her eyes away from the scene in front of them. She hangs onto the car while looking at all the emergency lights surrounding the hospital. Cops created some barricade, which people are gathering around to see what’s up. Patty is next to her in the driver's seat. Somebody is directing them away from the scene even though Bev continues to stand there. Instead, she climbs out shutting the door signaling for Patty to wait.

“What’s she doing?” Stan asks.

“I don’t know, I’m not the mind reader here,” comments Patty.

“Oh right, he’s inside,” mutters Stan. “He’s pretty useless anyway.”

“She’s probably going to ask what’s going on,” says Ben.

“That makes sense.” Stan sits there nodding his head while staring out the windshield. Bev is busy talking to the officer before she returns climbing into the vehicle. She looks at them. “So?”

“There’s some machete-wielding man in the hospital,” Bev says.

Nobody says anything while they all stare at Bev like she needs to say a lot more.

Bev sighs. “That’s a problem.”

“We know,” replies Stan.

“Do you think Richie and Mike are still in there?” asks Ben.

“I think we’re gonna have to find a way to break in there and find out.” Bev stares out at the hospital again. Somebody honks at them as they drive up behind them. Patty starts to drive again unsure where to go next. Bev still looks out. “We’re gonna have to either get in there or find where people were evacuated to and see if that where they are.”

###

Eddie sits in a broken plastic chair. Same with El and Max. They pulled them out of the Mystery Van before the others left. One chair is empty while Will stands a few feet away from them. He’s out there staring into the woods with Dart 2.0 sitting next to him. Tim the Enchanter is tied to Eddie’s chair, he’s afraid if he stands up the dog would run into the road and get hit by a car. Whenever a truck flies past them, there’s a gust of wind as it rumbles all too loud.

“Can you watch, Tim?” Eddie asks El.

“Ok.” She puts her hand out and Tim licks her palm.

Max who is leaning back in her seat lowers her red sunglasses to watch Eddie get up. “Where are you going?”

Eddie sticks his hands in his pockets while he stands there looking at her. She sure is intimidating. “Um going over there.” He nods in the direction of Will so Max looks from Eddie to Will and back to Eddie. “I’m sorry, but is something wrong?”

“Yeah, there is.” Max fixes her sunglasses and falls back in her seat. “But we can all talk about it later.”

Eddie grumbles to himself as he walks over to Will and stands next to him or really he stands next to Dart 2.0 who doesn’t flinch when he moves beside the creature. “Hey.”

Will looks at him and sort of smile. “Hey.”

“So. . .” Eddie rocks back and forth on his feet. “What’s on your mind?”

Will shrugs. “I um don’t know.” And he takes a step forward with Dart 2.0 following him. “I think there’s something out there.”

“Trees?”

“Other than trees.”

“Rocks?” Eddie looks at the woods and squints like that’ll help him see better. “A serial killer?”

Will starts to walk and heads right into the woods without saying much. “Just, I’ll be back in a few minutes. Call me when they get back.”

Eddie looks back at El and Max who are talking to themselves about something not noticing the fact that Will just takes off in the woods. People who go into the woods go there to get murdered or fall and break their leg then starve to death. So Eddie ends up following Will because both scenarios suck.

“Just-Just hold up!” Eddie shouts. He stops right at the edge and looks back again at El and Max who are now paying attention to them. El rises out of her seat and stands staring at them. “I’ll be right back.”

“Will?” El says. It’s hard to tell if she meant to whisper it or shout it. Her tone and volume are off.

Eddie heads into the woods after Will who is walking away not paying any mind to him or their surroundings while El comes up behind him. Max stays in her seat. El catches up to Eddie. She doesn’t look at him but instead continues to stare after Will.

Again she says, “Will.”

“Um?” whispers Eddie.

“Something is wrong.” El glances at Eddie. They return to looking over at Will as he continues to walk away. “Will?”

But not once does he turn back around to face them. El takes the lead going after him. Eddie groans and begins to follow her. Forests, such a bad idea. This is going to be a bad idea. But he spent some of a childhood in the woods. Then again, a lot of bad happened there so this is such a bad idea.


	30. Chapter 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike fights for his life and learns a pretty sucky fact.

Mike has to stop to catch his breath guessing Richie needs to stop with a broken foot and all. He turns around to see that Richie isn’t here anymore. He made it into some sort of hallway from some inner labyrinth of the hospital. 

To be honest, all the times he spent in the hospital were with his dad. He sat beside his father’s bed as he slipped away from life because of cancer. The whole time he wrote out all the words his father had to share about Derry and its inner workings. There was an evil there, living in the sewers, and everybody always knew it but refused to acknowledge it.

Alarms go off. They’re blaring and way too loud. The lights flash too bright and still, Mike is alone while he is standing there. 

“Richie?” he yells and starts to walk back to the area where he turned from one hallway to the next. Mike looks down the hall, it’s under construction with plastic hanging around, paint cans are left around on the ground. “Richie?” But somehow, Richie is just gone. That can’t be good. Mike stands there watching as some of the plastic moves as if it’s caught on the wind. 

Rather than walking forward, Mike turns to some of the stuff left behind by people. He picks up a piece of wood with nails sticking out of it and then makes his way into the hallway. Better be prepared for whatever follows them.

“Hey, Richie? Richie? I don’t like this, man. Not into you hiding and all.” Mike makes it to the one plastic floating up and up because it’s at the entrance to a whole other hallway he ran past. Chances are Richie went that way, but he can make out some sort of mass on the ground. Fuck. He inhales deeply counting the short seconds. One. Two. Three. Mike starts to walk forward towards whatever is on the ground. If he let Richie die, Will and Eddie would be devastated, that’d be on him. All of it, on him. He didn’t want to be the reason why so many friends died. Bill was dead because of him. Stan and Eddie had almost died because of him. Richie has had nothing but bad luck around him since they crossed paths again.

Mike hangs tight to the piece of wood rising it up ready to attack like he has an axe or a baseball bat or anything other than his bare hands. Whoever out there is about to pay. It’s not the first time he’s had a brush with death so that helps. Mike stands in front of whatever is on the ground and whatever it is, it’s at least not Richie nor is it another dead person, which has to be a positive. All the lights continue to flash around him and he’s about to step around what’s on the ground when he just has a gut feeling about what is about to happen. Rather than move forward, Mike swings his makeshift weapon around hitting this iron masked murderer in the side of the face. The impact knocks them to the ground and the mask off. It clatters to the ground.

“Thank God, you’re not Richie,” mutters Mike.

Before the person can make their move, Mike kicks the mask away and then leaps back ready to swing again like he’s at bat.

“Don’t get up! The-The police are here!” he yells down but whoever this is, isn’t about to listen. Instead, they brace themselves as they push themselves up as if they’re doing a push up at the gym. Mike braces himself for another attack. “I SAID, don’t get up!”

“BILL?!” It’s not Mike who says it and he didn’t even realize Richie was back or where Richie had gone. Either way, Richie is behind him from a room up ahead, he’s armed with a scalpel, which is sharp but without the reach of a machete.

The word makes no sense to Mike at first. Bill. It’s what Richie had shouted. And he’s standing there staring right at this murderer, this person with some skin peeling from his face and it’s too, too pale. This is Bill Denborough, the one and only Bill Denborough they had all known and loved and mourned for when he was slaughtered underneath Derry. 

It’s a good thing Mike never lets his guard down because Bill goes for another attack, he lashes out with that machete of his. The tip nicks Mike but he manages to bring the nails down and into the side of his face. 

Behind him Richie throws the scalpel at Bill’s face. “Leave Mike alone, you sloppy bitch!”

Bill is lying, flat out on his back, he still has a good hold of his weapon and gets up again. Fuck like triple fuck. Richie grabs onto Mike’s elbow ushering him to go because it looks like this isn’t going to end well. It never does. Mike backs away while facing Bill, armed with his makeshift weapon. Bill snaps forward lunging at him, machete-wielding chaos almost bears down on Mike but gunshots blast in the hallway. Two pops drown out the constant siren.

Bill falls face-first into the ground. There’s no blood splatter like one would expect. Chunks of his skin fly out almost hitting Mike in the face. At the other end of the hallway stands a security guard with their gun, they’re standing there trembling unable to look away close to tears.

Before the guard can shoot again, Mike drops his makeshift weapon and raises both his hands to surrender. Whoever the guard is lowers their weapon. The three all stare at each other and at least, Bill doesn’t get up. Mike looks back at Richie just in time to see him move to the side almost making it to a trash bin, but misses. He pukes all over the place. Mike moves over to him patting him on the back while Richie kneels there still heaving. 

Mike touches his wound where the machete nicked him. It’s not too bad, for him. He’s seen worse in the past as in he’s the one who’s gone through worse. Mike lifts his one hand showing the blood to the guard and Richie, which results in Richie puking again except he makes it into the trash bin this time around.

“I need medical attention,” Mike announces. 

A police officer comes up behind them looking at the scene. Richie still heaving as he kneels by the waste bin. There’s no bag in it and his vomit seeps out through little holes. It’s meant for paper and not bodily fluids. Richie raises his hand, “I need a doctor, too, and stat.”

One of the police officers makes a call over the radio. Alarms continue to blare with all those flashing lights. Mike has to hope they’re not about to get into a lot of trouble. It appears Richie isn’t about to start standing any time soon. He instead is too dramatic and lies out on the ground away from where he threw up and groans. “We should let the Losers know we’re alive.”

“After the police,” Mike tells him.

Richie looks over at Bill’s body just lying out on the ground. No blood soaking the ground but there he is looking more dead than he did before, which was pretty dead. They all saw him die back there, back in Derry, about as dead as dead can be. People don’t come back from that shit, but apparently some people do and none of that can be good.

###

“I don’t like the looks of this,” Eddie mutters more to himself than to El or Will. Mainly ‘cause Will is so far ahead of them and El looks too distant to listen to actual words beyond her thoughts. She plants her feet in one spot and Will is gone again, deeper into the woods. Eddie is there by a little sign that says **Pet Semetary**. So many graves for so many pets surround them. Too many are bent and broken with vines pulling them deeper into the ground. Eddie touches the sign while he stares at El. “You still see him?”

El looks at the ground, it’s as if she is in pain the way she looks all around her before she turns around to face Eddie. “We shouldn’t. . .be here.”

“Ok?”

El points to where Will just went. “Bad place.”

Eddie moves a little faster to catch up with Will. “Fucking figures something weird is gonna happen to us.” He jerks past her almost getting caught in some tree roots. He climbs over them and comes to a clearing where Will stands while staring off at nothing. Eddie waits there. “Hey um Will?”

Will doesn’t flinch.

“Will? I’d like it more if you stopped acting all weird, this is getting really fucking scary.”

Still, Will doesn’t flinch so Eddie looks back to El for help but she won’t move beyond the Pet Semetary to where they stand.

Eddie reaches out lightly touching Will’s shoulder to get his attention. It works. For the first time, Will moves. He whirls around so fast he knocks Eddie over. Will stands there somewhat looking down at Eddie and states, “The barrier wasn’t meant to be crossed” and he just collapses, flat out cold. Eddie leans forward checking his pulse to be sure he’s not dead. Eddie checks his phone, no service, figures.

He leans back on his heels and looks over to where El stands in the Pet Semetary. “I need your help!”

El doesn’t move. She informs him again, “Bad place.”

And Eddie looks back down at Will. _The barrier wasn’t meant to be crossed_. Whatever the fuck that meant had to be bad news bears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've appeared to have lost all my notes for this and I forget where I was going except for the absolute end. Now I'm bummed because everything has been terrible.
> 
> Anyway, pls let me know if you'd like to read more or anything. A smile face would even bring joy to my sad heart.


	31. Interludes with Mike Hanlon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And here we go, full on Pet Semetary inspired plot line is about to happen.

### Interludes with Mike Hanlon

I want you to understand that the following will be an unusual installment for you, listeners. It’ll start with a memory from when I was in school and we read this short story, Monkey’s Paw, but I didn’t get it. This couple had three wishes and of course, they go wrong. The couple is financially unstable so they wish for more money, which results in the death of their son at the factory and the factory had to pay their dues for their loss. So what do they do? Wish for him to come back and it works, he comes back but they can’t let that happen because sometimes dead is better. 

But I never got it. 

There is a lot I’d do to bring my dad back and a lot I’d do to bring my mom back. I’d do a lot to even bring my dog back and a lot I thought I’d do to bring my friend, Bill Denborough, back.

Bill got to come back though. 

Being from Derry, Maine, I’ve seen a lot that I wouldn’t blink an eye at. One such being the moment I saw Bill again after he tried to kill Richie and me. He came close, too, but somebody shot him down. I still failed to be surprised even while I stood in the morgue looking at his body. It was me, his wife, Bev, Ben, and Stan. If Richie were up and about and not seeing doctors, he would have been there, as well.

We were stuck there with questions. Bill came back. Bill was dead and then he wasn’t dead. He was instead something stuck in between life and death and full of murder. He killed all those people. Audra was asked to leave at one point, she never shed a tear. Had a feeling she was behind it with how she acted earlier. Everything was coming together.

Whoever it was working in the morgue informed us, Bill had been buried in the Pet Sematary. I’d been there. Richie had been there. Richie had been there at some other point before we both physically step foot there. The person in the morgue told us a story that had been passed down about the Pet Semetary, about a barrier that existed there and how it was never meant to be broken.

But it begs to be broken.

During World War II, one kid lost his life overseas. His body was sent back in a casket with government thanks, but it wasn’t enough for the family. The kid’s father decided to bury him in the real Pet Semetary, a place beyond the pet graves because there when the ground is broken and somebody or something is buried, life finds a way to return.

When his son came back, he knew things. Things that nobody should have ever known about each and every single person in town. Not to mention, there was a violence in him until one day his father set him on fire along with the house and took his own life in the process.

It’s happened again and again, the Pet Semetary asking for something. It’s hard to say what but with Bill gone again, I’m afraid if we stay long enough, we’ll all find out. There is something out there in that Pet Semetary looking for a way to be released and I hope to God it’s never our fault. 

This has been Interludes with Mike Hanlon and the Scooby Gang. And as always don’t go trip trapping over a bridge if there’s a troll underneath, that’s how you die.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also just *hint* Bill will be back. He's not gone that soon.


	32. Chapter 32

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just some sweet moments between Eddie and Richie but some bad moments are to come, overall. But as everything grows terrible, there are going to be so many more soft Reddie scenes.

Max is camping out on the front lawn with Dart 2.0 and Tim the Enchanter. She is about to doze off when the rest of the group returns. She sits up opening her eyes and pulls her sunglasses down a bit to get a better look at them. Richie is the first one out of the van. He looks at Max then frantically everywhere else until he focuses on Max again all while everybody climbs out after him with Mike returning to his side.

“Where’s Will?” he demands.

“I don’t know, he went for a walk in the woods like an hour or so ago,” says Max. “Eddie and El, too.” She does an awkward look at the yard as if she were about to spot them because they have been gone for a long time. “Maybe they’re in the house?”

“You let them just go into the fucking woods?” snaps Richie.

Max shrugs. “Um yeah? I’m not in charge of them.”

“Fuck. Fuck. What the fuck is wrong with you, Max?” Richie takes off into the woods leaving Max at a loss of words. She stares after him. Only Mike chases after him.

Audra is still with them and states, “You wouldn’t understand.”

Bev casts a dirty look in her direction. “Sorry, but we all loved Bill.”

“No, you wouldn’t understand or you don’t understand. It’ll want somebody else now.”

Bev and Ben exchange a look with Stan and Patty. All four of them take off after Richie and Mike not needing more input on what is happening.

With such a head start, Richie reaches Eddie first in the woods. Already, he is out there with El struggling to get Will back who is still unconscious. At the sight of Richie, Eddie releases a dramatic sigh of relief. “Perfect! Just what we need, Richie fucking Tozier and company.”

“I have a name,” Mike says as he comes up behind Richie.

“What the fuck are you doing out here? How fucking stupid are you?!” Richie starts screaming at Eddie. “Why would you let this happen? What the fuck, Eds? What the fuck? How could you let this happen?” Mike attempts to put a hand on Richie’s arm to calm him down, but Richie steps forward and jabs a finger into Eddie’s shoulder. It doesn’t take long for everybody else to catch up. “What were you thinking? Coming out here, like this? Getting him into trouble? What the fuck, Eddie?”

“Ok, but why are you even yelling at me?” retorts Eddie, he pushes Richie away. “It’s not my fault your little boyfriend just wandered into the woods like some sort of weird-ass freak.”

“He is normal size! Unlike you! What the fuck? You’re small and you’re the reason why. . .I don’t know!”

Mike raises his hand and makes his way between the two of them. “I’d like to take a moment and speak up for the good of the order. Richie is only upset because he is bad at communicating and failed to let everybody know he was visited by a dead guy who said not to bring Will to. . .well here."

"Is that true?" El asks. 

"Um yeah. Yeah. That's true."

"And you didn't think to let any of us know?" snaps Eddie. "Like it didn't fucking cross your mind to warn Will or let his sister know or even tell me. Me. Fucking me, Eddie Kaspbrak, that something was wrong? How long have we known each other? You could've also told me."

"I don't know what you want me to say. Not that long really. We were kids then once as adults and now and I don't know Eddie. You were asleep and I don't fucking know. I fucked up. I fucked up." Richie pauses to look down at Will. "We need to get him out of here. Look up hospitals that aren't here."

"We should go to the closest," Bev admits. 

"The one where we just almost died?"

"Wait. What the fuck happened?" asks Eddie. "What do you mean almost died? Like literally or is that an exaggeration?"

"There's a lot we need to catch you up on," Mike adds. 

Richie just stands there staring at Eddie unable to find words for him. No explanation to Bill being back from the dead and the fucking nightmare he had the other night. 

“Look, he’s been out for a while, he just collapsed, that can’t be good. He has to go to the nearest hospital.” Eddie insists, he still doesn’t have all the information, but he has a point. “Besides we have El and that demon dog of yours. Nothing can stop us.”

Richie doesn’t say much to this. All he says is, “I’m going to Google other options. We have to get out of here as soon as possible no matter what. Trust me. Just fucking trust me on this one.”

Eddie moves closer and sort of awkwardly touches Richie’s shoulders. “I trust you, but also I know a thing or two about medicine from years of deep-seated anxiety over death so I think I know when to go to the hospital, which is now. Richie, I trust you. We trust you. But we gotta look out for Will, right now.”

###

Richie had no idea he’d fallen asleep. It seemed a greater mystery to how he managed to fall asleep in the chair. A knock wakes him up. He looks out a little window in the door to see Eddie standing there. Eddie waves and holds up a tray with what appears to be two coffees. Richie glances at Will who is still pretty unconscious. He’s just glad they have a private room with security all around.

Richie gets up to open the door. “What are you doing here? It’s like one in the morning.” He yawns and pulls out his phone to find it dead.

Eddie looks around Richie at Will in his hospital bed. “Wait, who’s corgi is that?”

“Oh yeah, that’s um Dart.” Richie waves his hand at the dog all curled up there and it’s as if Dart 2.0 had been wearing a costume that melted off. “Just don’t tell anybody, I’m working hard enough to keep up this whole damn illusion.”

“Illusion,” Eddie whispers watching as Dart 2.0 returns to corgi form. He breaks his attention from this idea of all the change that has happened in the year between. All the things Richie apparently never told him, but also, it’s not like he ever called. Not once. “I brought some coffee.”

Richie takes a cup smiling at him. “Um thanks.”

“There’s whiskey in it, too, seemed appropriate.”

Richie nods as he takes a sip.

“A little recipe I heard from your mom earlier tonight.”

Richie snorts covering his face to hide the fact hot coffee and whiskey shot through his nose, and it burned a whole lot. “Cool fact,” is all he says through his fingers.

“I’m afraid I’m a little rusty on your mom jokes or at least that’s what she told me last night.” Eddie walks in past Richie pulling the second chair in the room closer to the one he had been sleeping in. Richie uses his sleeve to wipe his face as he comes to sit down beside Eddie. The two are there holding onto coffees at one in the morning looking at Will and Dart 2.0. “So you can um keep up that whole brain thing even while you’re asleep?”

“I guess so or I only can here. Me, it’s not like this is a good thing, there’s something wrong with me and there is something wrong with this place, which is why we need to leave as soon as possible.” He takes another sip of the coffee only to put it off to the side not really in the mood for anything. He looks at Eddie. “What are you even doing here right now?”

“Earlier El said something about it being a bad place out there. I feel like I trust her. Also mainly because she said that and then Will just fucking dropped like a fly and hasn’t gotten up since.”

Richie clasps his hands together and leans into them. He’s facing Will but really looks at Eddie. His hands almost muffle his words to a silence, “I’m sorry.”

“Huh?” Eddie practically shouts.

“I’m sorry!” Richie does shout.

“Oh really? For what?”

For a change, Richie turns in his seat to face Eddie. “I don’t know for like everything. I’m sorry, Eds. I should’ve told you. What if I fucked up?”

“I’d have to kill you because Will is actually pretty alright and you’re a cunt.”

“Woooooow, that was a little intense.” Richie hangs his legs over the side of his chair, they’re opposite to Eddie because he leans into Eddie, a much more comfortable position than his earlier sleeping chance. “Thanks for joining me.”

“Oh there’s been a misunderstanding.”

It takes a lot for Richie to lean back enough while resting against Eddie to look back up at him. “Misunderstanding? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I’m here for Will. We got married earlier.”

“You got married?”

“Yeah, it just seemed really awkward to tell you, but yeah, we got married. Your mom even walked me down the aisle.”

“What the fuck? No ! Stop!. There’s no way.”

Eddie puts his coffee to the side leaning back, his feet all stretched out while Richie continues to lean into him. The two are tucked away in a hospital corner. “That music thing you do with Will seems cool. Could you do that for me? Like play some song in my head.”

It’s so quiet in the room. Richie takes off his glasses to tuck them into his shirt like that’s going to be safe. He closes his eyes providing no spoken response. Instead, the two are there in their continued silence listening to whatever song Richie chooses to somewhat silence his erratic thoughts. The casual favorite of Richie’s, _Just Like Honey_ by The Jesus and Mary Chain, lightens the moment as they drift off into sleep. 

Only a split second later, Eddie is wide awake stuck on each individual word, _Walking back to you, it’s the hardest thing that I can do, I can do for you. _

The world seems to be asleep or at least, everybody but Eddie. He looks down at Richie who remains partially curled up beside him while the other half is sprawled over uncomfortable waiting room chairs. The sweet-sounding words almost sound sour coming from a guy like Richie. There’s very little that is sweet about him. 

Still, Eddie smiles reminding himself to stay in the moment, not the past or think of the future. Instead, he sinks into the music as the words start to say _just like honey, just like honey_ over and over again. Not everybody is out there trying to lie or hurt him. There are complications, but right now it’s really just him, Richie, and Will inconveniently lying in a hospital room. Eddie closes his eyes anyway drifting off to sleep beside Richie.

Will snaps up in his bed the moment Eddie is fast asleep for the night. Dart 2.0 looks at him almost making some whimpering sound as Will climbs out of bed without a word and leaves the room with them all in it. Outside, he drags some cart of supplies in front of the door and walks away. Somehow, even with all that security and people working around the clock, nobody watches Will slip away.

Something wakes Eddie, but it’s too dark for him to really see. He smiles at Richie again who is at some other point in his playlist listening to a whole new song except it’s too ominous and somber making Eddie ready to fall asleep again like it never happened. _I'm never gonna know you now, but I'm gonna love you anyhow._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote some of this on my phone because I was really into it so I hope it's not too weird and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did writing it. Pls leave any comments, it'll brighten my day a bit.


	33. Chapter 33

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for some action and heartbreak.

Somebody coughing wakes Richie. He’s afraid he’s been there drooling over Eddie in his sleep. They’re both at awkward positions in their seats. Eddie continues to sleep and Richie wipes his face as he gets up without bothering Eddie. The world is all blurry and he guesses Mike is standing there and confirms this with his glasses on.

“Yeah?” Richie whispers.

Mike looks at him and then at Eddie who is still sleeping. “He’s going to complain about this later.”

“Yeah, all aches and pains for his joints and other bones.” Richie is about to walk over to Mike when he realizes the bed is empty. He had one of those mini heart attacks while looking at the bed. _Not dead, Will, isn’t dead, just in the bathroom._ After one long inhale, Richie closes his eyes and turns to find Mike moved closer to him and accidentally yelps waking up Eddie.

“Huh? What?” Eddie abruptly falls off the chair making an attempt to stand, but fails twice.

Richie helps him stand up and Eddie points all around the room like he’s going to attack. “Hey.”

“My back,” mutters Eddie once he realizes it’s safe, he rubs his back.

“Told you, you owe me two bucks,” comments Mike.

Richie points at himself. “Oh, um, I didn’t bet on anything and I even agreed with you.” Rather than continue, he points at the bed. “Where’s Will?”

Eddie continues to rub his back and also one of his elbows. “My elbow hurts, did you sleep on my elbow? Why’d you do that?”

Both Richie and Mike let him ramble for a bit before Mike opens his mouth about to answer when somebody knocks on the door behind them. Two officers are standing at the door. Richie tilts his head to the side to look at them past Mike. Meanwhile, Eddie dramatically moves to the side while touching his neck grumbling something about it as well.

“Um that’s a little complicated,” says Mike.

Richie signals for the officers to come in, and they carefully close the door behind them. “Hello, we are looking for a Richard Tozier to speak with.

“I didn’t do it,” replies Richie.

The officers look at one another, but Mike speaks up for them. “It’s about Will.”

“Is he ok?” blurts Richie.

This gets Eddie to shut up about all his aches and pains. “Wait, what’s going on? Where’s Will? Hey! Where’s Will, is he ok? Why isn’t he here?”

“Can we have a word with you, Mr. Tozier?”

“Sorry, Mr. Tozier isn’t here, that’s my dad. I’m Rich.” Richie pauses and jabs Eddie with his elbow. “Good thing, too, what a jerk that guy could be.”

“My mom created fake sicknesses for me and gave me medication for them,” Eddie whispers.

“It’s not a competition, Eds.”

Richie then follows the police outside of the room mouthing some gibberish to Mike and Eddie. Neither of them get it. Eddie is now rubbing his side. “Do you have any Advil?” Eddie asks Mike.

“No, but you are in a hospital so it shouldn’t be too hard to ask someone else.”

“Riiiight.” Eddie doesn’t leave though. “Where’s Will?”

“In a holding cell.” Mike seems so nonchalant when he says this.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“He’s been arrested. They want to talk to Richie about something.” Mike walks to the door and pauses before opening. “Bill’s gone again.”

“But he’s dead?” The color drains from Eddie’s face either way. “Right? As in he died a second time, he’s dead?”

Still Mike doesn’t open the door. “Apparently, the dead can easily walk here.”

###

Richie stretches his legs out while he sits at a table across from the two officers. Already he’s picking at the table before him and grabbing onto anything before him. There are some loose pens and papers. Richie starts to rip one of the little papers while he sits there. The whole time the officers watched him in silence.

So Richie breaks their silence, “What’s up? Nothing good I imagine.”

One of the officers pulls out a tablet pulling up a security footage of the morgue.

“I swear, that’s not me,” Richie blurts. “A lot of people wear glasses.”

The officer peers up from the tablet. “It’s not about you, this is about William Byers.” 

“Oh, right. Sorry. Sometimes I forget that the world doesn’t revolve around just me.”

He plays security footage of the morgue. Bill’s body is underneath a sheet on one of the tables. The lights are dim in the room yet grow brighter when a door opens. Will stalks straight into the room to the table where Bill is. He pulls the sheet off Bill, touches his forehead, and Bill rises up all over again. The two exit the morgue with each other and the video ends.

Richie shoves his hand through his hair ready to puke. There’s not a trashcan to do so, but he jumps up and runs off to a corner and throws up over there. The officer tucks the tablet away.

“We were able to apprehend him a few hours after this incident, but he refuses to speak to us. Instead, he requests to speak with _you_, a Mr. Richard Tozier, and his sister, a Mrs. Jane Wheeler.”

“Yeah, ok then. . .I’d like that. . .” Richie returns to the table but both officers stand up to lead him out. Such a request though feels odd like a subtle bug sting. _Doesn’t sound like Will at all._ He uses his sleeve to wipe his mouth. “Like right now? Can’t I like get a water or something?”

Only the officers lead him into a different, undisclosed room. One that appears to have one of those double sided mirrors. Will sits at a table in the middle of the room. Richie is about to enter when he spots El coming from a different direction. She offers up a small smile.

“I will help,” El says.

“Is that allowed?” Richie looks at the few officers around them. “Like is any of this allowed?”

“We don’t know, but the dead aren’t allowed to come back,” responds one officer.

Richie nods. “Agreed.” He enters the room with El and a single officer came in who closed the door behind them. Will does not move from the table. Instead, he sits there blankly staring at a wall. Richie waves a hand in front of his face, it looks as if Will is only physically present. His mind is gone. “Hey Will? What sort of supernatural bullshit are you up to today?”

The officer raises both his hands as he comes to stand behind them. “Just here for liability reasons.”

Richie and El sit in front of Will. The two stare at each other for awhile and Richie bites down on his lip, almost a little too hard. He tastes blood and touches his lip to see it like seeing it will make it real. He wipes the blood away on his pants.

“Will?” asks El. “What is wrong, Will? Will?”

Will doesn’t flinch or move. He sits and stares not at them but the wall behind them.

“Hey Macaroni, we’re talking to you? Pay the fuck attention,” Richie says to him. He reaches out to put a hand on the back of Will’s hand. “You listening to me?”

Maybe not because Will continues to stare with his eyes so blank.

Again, Richie waves a hand in front of his face. “Hey, how’d you do that little walking dead trick back there? That’s a little fucking terrifying, you know, because like he did try to kill us.”

“Will?” whispers El. She then lowers her voice to whisper to only Richie. “Something is wrong.”

“No shit, El!”

Will moves. He snaps his attention towards El causing her to start a bit. She pulls back a little but Will reaches out putting both his hands on top of hers and says, “I’m sorry, it’s not me, it’s _them_.”

“Them?” Richie and El ask at the same time.

“W-W-Will, who is _them_?” Richie keeps up asking.

Will holds tightly to El’s hand, she winces and wrinkles her nose and tries to utter something but the words do not escape. Instead, she tries to move out of the seat, trembling but Will stands still holding onto her so Richie gets up trying to pry her hands off El.

“What the fuck, man? Let her go? What are you doing?” snaps Richie.

Somehow El flies back, she slams into the wall and starts to scream with such anger. She raises her one hand but nothing happens. The officer makes his way over to her but its Will who flings him to the side without touching. Its with the flick of the wrist and the officer is down on the ground. El slides up the wall with her feet flailing around and there’s nothing for her to grab onto.

Richie gawks at Will, at such a loss for words. The door almost opens, but again all it takes is a flick of the wrist and it slams shut on somebody's fingers then shut all the way, it locks. They’re alone. There is banging on the whole double sided mirror business, but Richie can’t make out what’s being said.

“_WILL_!” Richie shouts. “What-What are you doing? What the fuck is going on?! C’MON!”

Will again seems to doze off while he glares at El keeping one hand up and she’s dangling in the air. Richie moves around to stand in front of Will touching the sides of his face, which gets Will’s attention for a change.

“Hey! Hey! Will? Macaroni? Ravioli? Zombie Boy? Come the fuck back to us? This shit your doing right now, it sucks!” They’re both standing so close staring at one another and the door snaps open with the officers racing into the room. Some of them are even armed. “It’s just me, Richie. Trashmouth Tozier, and um apparently your sister. Why’d you go steal her powers like that? How’d you steal her powers like that? What the fuck, Will?”

One of the officers says something, but it’s lost behind some growling. Dart 2.0 stalks around the corner causing quite the stir, Richie lost his illusion for the creature. It’s just a huge monster with slobber passing over teeth as his mouth peels apart.

Richie glances at Dart 2.0 before he looks back at Will. “C’mon, Will, you can’t be fucking serious! Dart, Dart’s a good boy, remember? Like the best boy of golden retriever standards? Don’t let him do this, don’t fucking make him do this!”

Still Will stares directly at Richie. “Help me.”

“Yeah, cool, great. But how?!”

Will shakes his head and again he says, “I’m so sorry, Richie.”

“Will?” Richie doesn’t look back as El collapses to the floor. He continues to hold onto Will. Nobody moves with Dart 2.0 around. The second time Richie says “Will?” El speaks up, too.

Still, all Will says is “So sorry.” He grabs Richie by the wrists and pulls his hands away before touching the side of his face then he’s off about to leave.

Richie goes to turn after him but pain strikes him down. His knees slam down while his head feels as if it is about to split open or implode. The pain is too intense, he pukes while there and El grabs onto him pulling him back away from the mess that floods that room as Dart 2.0 rips apart the officers. 

It’s so fast and blood puddles reaching out. Not that Richie can see. The pain is too intense the whole world blurs and blurs and blurs to the point he swears he can start seeing brand new colors. El says nothing while she holds onto him. She takes his glasses off as he tucks his knees into his chest stuck in a fetal position while gripping the side of his splitting head.

“WIIIIIIILL!” she screams while kneeling beside Richie.

But there’s no sign that Will is about to stop for her or Richie. Nope, instead he looks back all of once mainly to snap his fingers to call Dart 2.0 to attention. Dart looks up, blood and slobber twisting together in his mouth before following Will outside. Nobody else comes in for them. Instead, it’s her and Richie while he rocks back and forth screaming in pain, holding his head. She keeps his glasses safe on the top of her head.

El almost sobs, “Will.” She sighs and doesn’t really know how to call for help at this point because most of anybody who can help them is already dead. She hangs onto Richie who continues to writhe in pain or he does until he doesn’t. “Richie?” she looks down at him, still hanging onto him the scene of some massacre. “No, no, no.” He lies there all limp while she hangs onto him and touches his face. “R-Richie?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like I'm reaching scenes I've been ready to write now from the start but I don't feel so great about them. Well, I hope somebody likes them.


	34. Chapter 34

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> About to get back into some action after other things happened.

Eddie sits inside the same room for what feels like days. There’s two police officers across from him and he hasn’t stopped tapping on the side of the table even though the one has asked him to stop about three times. A third officer enters bringing the three hot chocolate. He sets it all down before leaving the room. It’s really just a hospital room with somebody sometimes looking through the door’s window at them. At some point, somebody moved a table in there and set up some chairs. Sometimes if Eddie looked out the window, he would watch police officers everywhere running all around.

“Can I go now?” Eddie asks.

The one officer looks down, she reviews a few notes. “We still have a few questions.”

“Shouldn’t you ask everybody else questions, too?”

She looks up at him. “They are being asked questions. Just different rooms.”

Eddie glares at her. This would be a great time to be telepathic, but nope. Nope, nope, nope. None of them are and the only who is. . .

The officer looks as if she is about to ask some question, but Eddie gets his thoughts off his mind. “I have somewhere I need to be, just so you’re aware.”

“Where would that be?” asks the other officer.

“Just you know, mourning at a friend’s bedside.”

“Your friend isn’t dead.”

“I know, but he might. What if he does die?” Eddie taps the table faster and faster.

Neither of the officers tell him to stop this time around. The one speaks up, she does so after taking a sip of hot chocolate. “He’s not going to die, Mr. Kaspbrak. We need to ask you a few more questions about William Byers then William and Audra Denborough.”

Eddie sighs, burying his face against the table unable to stand any of this anymore. Richie is out, unconscious. It’s been a day or maybe it’s been over a day. What if it had been a week? A whole week with Will somewhere out there acting stranger than usual and all supernatural and Richie unconscious, stuck in a hospital bed and El devastated over her loss of powers, but at least, her husband joined her at some point or so he was told while waiting in that room with the police showing up on occasion.

“I. . .” At first, Eddie speaks to the table then he sits back looking up at the police officers. “I have to go take a shit.”

“Can it wait?” they both asked him in unison.

“No, it’s explosive,” replies Eddie. “I also have. . .leaky intestines.”

The female officer wrinkles her nose at this. “Is that even possible?”

“Yes.” Eddie stares right at her. “It is. I’ve lived with this since I was eight.”

She points him to the door, but he already knows where it is. Eddie climbs out of his seat and hobbles to the door, but he walks normal after he closed it. The officers inside the room not able to look at him. He moves a cart in the way before starting to walk away towards the information desk because nobody has told him anything about Richie other than the vague update of him being alright.

Except an officer cuts him off asking, “What do you think you’re doing?”

Of course, it's about to happen this way, he's not going to make it out there to Richie. Eddie almost trips falling into them, but then he realizes it’s Bev wearing what actually looks more like some cheap police costume, it doesn't quite fit her right. She even has a hat on hiding most of her red hair. Bev smiles trying to stifle her laughter because this would look odd.

“Bev,” Eddie whispers to her. “That’s illegal.”

“What’s illegal? Talking to you?”

“No! Impersonating a police officer is illegal.”

“Oh, true.” Bev flanks him, she touches his elbow pushing him in one direction. “I’m going to need you to come this way with me.” This she says loud enough for anybody to overhear. She knocks Eddie off his path and he looks back unsure what to tell her. “Don’t worry, I know everything.”

“Yeah, I know you, know everything.” Eddie attempts to pull away but she tightens her grip on his elbow.

There’s no way Bev is about to let him go for whatever reason. He sighs giving up as she leads him outside the hospital and out into the parking lot. They pass so many cars and she keeps her head down as does he. They reach the edge and Bev takes her hat off and starts to unbutton her police costume to return to her normal clothes.

Eddie comments on nothing as he stares at their stupid mystery van because Richie is there and Richie is ok and Richie is out and about standing there smoking a cigarette while leaning into the van.

For some reason, Eddie finds himself asking, “I thought you quit.”

Richie smirks at him flicking his cigarette to the side and stomping it. “Shut up, Eds.”

“Stop calling me, Eds.”

“Never, unless I’m dead because then I can’t talk since. . .I’m dead.”

“That’s not funny.” Eddie hasn’t move. 

By this point, Bev is back in her street close rather than impersonating a police officer. “It’s just us. Max and El are keeping everybody distracted.” She pauses looking between the two of them. “Look, just you two, cut to the chase, we all know you’re in love so be in love or whatever, we have shit to get done.”

Richie throws open the door revealing Dart 2.0 on the inside who to the rest of the world looks more like a corgi in there slobbering way too much for comfort, probably because this is a monster dog. Eddie continues to stay put as Bev climbs into the driver seat. 

“Age before beauty,” Richie says signaling him to climb into the back.

Eddie smiles. “I mean, of course, so why are you still standing there?”

Richie laughs. “Fuck you, Eds.”

“No, fuck you!” Eddie replies as Richie climbs into the back and he follows shutting the door.

Bev groans about to bury her face in the steering wheel. “You can’t just say the same thing back to each other. It’s not funny!”

Richie leans forward resting his chin on Bev’s seat. “Chop, Chop! C'mon Ringwald! We got some stuff we need to do!”

In the rearview mirror, Richie can see her huge eye roll, but she drives off again hiding her laughter. Richie leans back in his seat buckling up with Eddie off to the side. There Eddie sits realizing he hasn’t asked a single question about what is going on just he knows they’re about to do something and where they’re about to go but once they get there he’s pretty sure none of them will know what to do. How can they seeing that none of them know what’s going on in the first place.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh I just don't know how I feel about all of this and am trying to work through to get to the end because I feel like it's close to the end.


	35. Interludes with Mike Hanlon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mike Hanlon tries to get a message out to Richie and Eddie on how to save Will.

### Interludes with Mike Hanlon

**Mike:** Hello everybody, this is going to be a very different episode for us today, coming at you live from an undisclosed location. For anybody who happens to live around the University of Maine and wish to contribute to our stories for the day, please call in at 915-1986. We look forward to your calls and by we, I mean our two guests. Not that you can see but sitting with me is Eleven Byers-Hopper-Wheeler.

**El: **It’s El Hopper.

**Mike:** I apologize for that. Then next to her is her husband, Mike Wheeler, who I will be referring to by first and last name seeing that I am your host, Mike Hanlon.

**Mike Wheeler: **UM HI.

**Mike: **You don’t have to shout into the microphone.

**Max:** (laughs in the background)

**Mike Wheeler: **Hi, I’m Mike Wheeler.

**Max:** (background) We already know that.

**Mike: **Our third and final guest is Max Mayfield who is here more to observe than join our talk.

**Mike Wheeler: **Can we just get to the point?

**Mike: **Yes, yes. Both Mike Wheeler and El here are from Hawkins, Indiana, which you might have heard a bit about on the news back in the day or on the occasional _Unsolved Mysteries_ episode. It’s a place where once a kid went missing then stranger things started to happen. William Byers was on his way home after joining his friends for a night of Dungeons & Dragons. After being promised comics from the classic _X-Men_ arc, The Dark Phoenix Saga, he rode off on his own to return home. This isn’t the sort of: He was never seen again story though because he was found among many other secrets. The year was 1983, a time people claim to be more innocent but we were always being lied to.

**El: **That is very dark.

**Mike: **I’m going to keep the story short. Mike Wheeler here was friends with William Byers, the missing boy, he and others were not about to give up when they met Eleven Hopper in the woods. A little strange that one child would disappear into the woods while one would reappear after breaking out of the National Hawkins Laboratory. But I’m going to jump ahead in our story after William Byers has returned to our story because a year later stories start to unfold. Would you like to make a comment on this, Mike Wheeler?

**Mike Wheeler: **Um sure?

**Mike: **Great, before our guest comments. I do want to make it clear that we are not alone in this world, but I’m sure you listeners were aware of that otherwise why would you be listening to this podcast? Instead, there is a whole alternate world similar to ours it's just all upside down where a monster lurks. A monster they thought they saw the end of especially with the return of William Byers. Except, that’s not true?

**Mike Wheeler:** No. Whatever it was in that other world, that monster. It came back and it took control of Will and at one point, it was like he was gone. We wanted to stop it and he knew where this creature or creatures, they were weird dog-like creatures but mainly all teeth. I’m doing a bad job of describing this, but a lot of them lived underground so people went down there to kill them but Will, Will set them up. He wasn’t Will anymore. We call the monster Mind Flayer.

**Mike: **Mind Flayer.

**Mike Wheeler: **Yeah, and some of us, we almost died because of him and we had to keep him knocked out so the Mind Flayer couldn’t find us. But whenever he’d wake up, we had to make sure he didn’t know where we were because he was like a whole different person, not our Will, but we sat there reminding him of who he was.

**Mike: **You sat there reminding him who he was?

**Mike Wheeler:** Yeah, like sharing all sorts of happy memories we had with Will.

**Mike:** You shared happy memories with Will. And it worked?

**Mike Wheeler:** It did, it took a bit, but it worked. It was hard. I really thought we lost him.

**Mike: **I know a memory I’d probably share with him would be this one time we were visiting a petting zoo. I was petting some goats with Stan and Patty when I heard Will say, I love lizards. And I looked up to tell him he was nuts only to see that Will was holding a lizard while Richie took a picture.

**Mike Wheeler: **One year, we dressed up as the Ghostbusters for Halloween. Will, me, and our friends and then we got to school and nobody else was dressed up. But that was before. . .before the Mind Flayer then things sort of fell apart after that.

**El: **Will and I had to move away from Hawkins when I lost my dad. We moved to Maine, and we had a study hall together but he always got there first. The times I was having such a bad time, he’d leave peanut butter cups from a vending machine for me.

**Max:** (background) I lost touch with Will for a while, but then realized I needed to talk to somebody because I felt so confused. I reached out to him, we met up for coffee, and it was the first time I ever told anybody out loud that I was bi, but up until then, he was the only queer person I knew.

**Mike:** All great stories. (pause) It looks like we have a few callers waiting on the line, I’d like to get to them but before we do I want to make a statement that earlier our friend Will Byers went missing again. 

**El: **Will. (pause) Please come back.

**Mike Wheeler: **Yeah, come back Will. We haven’t talked in a few years, that’s a pretty long time.

**Mike: **I don’t think you’re listening to this Will, but I know people who care and know you well are, people who I hope continue to listen as we explore some local mysteries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I originally had this one ending in mind but now I think I'm a little scared to go there. Anyhow, if you still dig this, pls let me know because that'd be helpful.
> 
> Um some tragedies might be coming up. . .


	36. Chapter 36

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to try and get Will Byers back or is it too late?

When someone with the nickname like “Trashmouth” is sure being quiet, there’s a huge fucking problem. It doesn’t take an expert to know shit is about to get real as Richie sits in the back about as quiet as can be with his thoughts humming real loud. _You're always letting us humans down, The wars you bring, the babes you drown, Those lost at sea and never found. . ._

“Rich! Richie!” Bev looks over her shoulder at him. They’d still be speeding down the road if she didn’t get stuck at a red light. “I don’t need your head being a radio for us, I’m trying to concentrate.”

“Ok, well, I’m SORRY that I’m nervous about my boyfriend going postal!” he yells.

Eddie even stays quiet. He looks back and forth between the two almost flying forward when Bev slams her foot on the gas pedal again. He grabs the door’s handle. This is happening, it’s really happening. Some stray thought strikes him of a time when he stubbed his toe, making his way towards from the bathroom. He bit down on his lip to not shout but almost really shouted when he realized somebody else was in the room with him.

“Just me.” It was Will. There wasn’t anything to sit on in the room and it took Eddie’s eyes a few moments to adjust to the darkness. Will had some tacos set out in front of him and a Pepsi. A bunch of hot sauce little packets were spread out. Eddie came over and sat across from him. “Couldn’t sleep.”

“Wow that sucks, I could sleep,” replied Eddie.

Will smiled. “I know, I heard.”

“You. . .heard?” Eddie asked it feeling all confused until it clicked. “It’s not my fault I have asthma. It’s hard to breathe when it rains.”

This prompted a laugh from Will before he took a giant bite of his one taco.

“What? What’s so funny? You’re a dick, you know that right?”

All the lights flashed on and they looked up to see Richie stumbling out of the bedroom. His glasses aren’t on and he’s rubbing his eyes while yawning. All he has on is a bathrobe with somebody else’s name embroidered on it in fancy letters.

Richie blinked a few times and squinted at them. “What’s-What’s happen and why wasn’t I invited?”

The memory is gone, thrown from Eddie’s mind when Bev slams her foot down on the brake. Again he lurches forward, his face hitting the back of the seat in front of him. Bev parked the car in the yard of the house. It’s obvious where they need to go, they know where Will went, Audra and Bill, too. The Pet Sematary. It takes Eddie a bit to realize, Richie’s still quiet. No trashing from the trashmouth. He throws open the van door before piling out with Dart 2.0 accompanying him.

“Richie! Wait!” Bev yells out the window but he’s gone with his monster dog. Bev and Eddie are still in the van looking out after them. She snaps her attention to Eddie, her eyes are opened wide with so much fear. “Eddie, we don’t have any weapons or anything to protect us.”

Eddie leans into his seat looking out after Richie until he can’t spot him anymore. “I have an idea.” Without looping Bev on the whole plan in mind, he also takes off but into the class. Bev rolls her eyes. She pulls the keys free from the ignition and chases after Eddie first rather than Richie to see what’s up. 

Inside the house, there’s a whole lot of dust floating around. It’s caught in cobwebs that creep across all the corners and crevices. The place stinks of something that Eddie can’t quite define. Something that reminds him of his youth when his mom would sit around doing nothing but spouting out things for him to fear because death is always a lot closer then he realized. Nobody’s been inside for a while and if they have, they’re more dead then alive, which is easy to believe at that point.

As Eddie moves towards the kitchen, he passes an old couch. There’s holes all over it and cockroaches that skitter underneath it. From the holes, moths fly out and swirl around the place. He starts to gag afraid he’ll swallow one if he keeps his mouth open but he can’t keep it shut because the whole place smells of his past and he can’t take it anymore.

Either way, Eddie makes it to the kitchen and throws open the drawers as he goes along until he finds a butcher knife. He lifts it up looking at it. The blade is all spotted from not a proper washing and that’s when he realizes, he’s not alone and it sure isn’t Bev who’s coming up behind him.

By some freak chance, Eddie whirls around on time screaming the whole time as he starts stabbing at air first before he starts to stab some rotting man in front of him. Whoever it is slashes out with a scalpel, the tip of the blade catches his cheek. Blood trickles down his face all while stabbing and stabbing and stabbing. Bev comes up holding a folded chair and swings it into the back the man’s head. Scalpel flies free and the man falls into the ground with a whole crunch.

Bev continues to hold on the folded chair looking over at Eddie. “You’re hurt. . .”

Eddie touches his face and looks at his finger. Blood, so much blood. He looks right back up at Bev. “Blood doesn’t clot from scalpel cuts.”

“No time.” Bev grabs an old dishrag and throws it at him. “Come on.” 

She starts to run away like Eddie will follow her right away. He stands holding the old rag to his face. It stinks like the rest of the place. Eddie grabs the scalpel as well as the butcher knife and even though it’s probably a terrible idea to run with them, he does, and it’s probably worse that he’s about to run through all of the woods. Bev is out there waiting for him at the edge of the property.

Eddie hands her the scalpel keeping the butcher knife for himself. “You could probably use this.”

Bev says nothing. She takes the scalpel and also makes a run for it with them. In theory, they’re not too far behind Richie and Dart 2.0, but those woods all have a mind of their own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda forgot what I was writing, a lot has happened.


	37. Chapter 37

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Richie, Bev, and Eddie face a possessed Eddie

Richie does his best to run but years of smoking and never working out messes with your body. Dart 2.0 is a little bit ahead of him. They’re scaling up some rocks heading towards when a cat leaps out of the bushes. Its face is peeling off, looks like it’ll fall off as the cat crashes into Dart 2.0 who’s face opens up like a flower and starts to make an attempt to knock the cat off himself. It doesn’t stop Richie as he continues sprinting forward. Any time he trips, he gets back up again and keeps on running. There’s scrapes and bruises beating him up along the way and he reaches the clearing with all the crooked graves and the sign hanging up there: **Pet Semetery**.

Up ahead, he can see Will standing on the other side where he was told never to bring him. Will holds both hands in the air, wind tunnels all around him. It sweeps leaves and dirt off the ground. Even rocks rise up caught in the air. Will’s back is to him.

Richie makes his way halfway across the cemetery before he stops and plants his feet there. It’s going to be impossible to get any closer.

“WILLIAM BYERS!” Richie screams at him and everything plummets to the ground. Will turns around, his feet cause little pebbles to splay out into the air. He glares at Richie, clenching his teeth and Richie takes a few steps closer to him. “Yeah, I’m talking to you!”

“William’s not here,” Will hisses back at Richie who is still making an attempt a slow approach towards him, but sticks and rocks lift off the ground again about to whirl around.

“Ok, but you look a lot like Will so it’s hard not to call you that,” replies Richie coming back to a standstill. “So who the fuck am I talking to then?”

Behind Richie he hears Eddie wheezing as he comes to a stop. He looks back at them, it’s Bev and Eddie. Eddie has a towel pressed to his cheek, it’s all crimson with his blood. Eddie’s got a knife and it looks like Bev has something. She mouths something to Richie, but he misses it. They don’t realize it at first but the ground tremors. Richie looks down, parting his feet a bit as it rocks a lot harder. Both Bev and Eddie glance down following the movement. Dirt spits up into the air and not-Will stands there holding both hands out and laughing about it.

A little cat head bursts from one of the graves. It’s hissing at all of them while clawing its way free. Another grave plot moves as a bird bursts free. Feathers rain down across the ground and even a horse ends up breaking free, as well. All the pets are waking up.

Again, Richie whips around looking over at not-Will. “Hey! You sloppy bitch! That’s cheating! I’m not gonna hurt a fucking animal! Why don’t you try and kill us yourself!”

“RICHIE!” Bev screams, she means it more for him to shut up but there’s not a lot of time because a skeletal cat launches itself at her. She continues to scream while swinging the scalpel out at it. The blade is flung free from her fingers and hits the ground to which Richie throws himself into the ground to grab. He gets it in time.

Eddie starts stabbing the air again and screaming with Bev, he knocks the skeletal cat from him and a bird comes after him, pecking at his already super, bloody face.

“EDDIE!” Richie shouts after him, but Bev is swinging a branch she found at him.

When Richie goes to take a few steps in her direction, Bev shakes her head. “Get Will! Just! Do something useful for once!”

“That’s really fucking rude, Ringwald!” Richie’s backing up. Bev manages to hit the bird to the ground, it shatters upon impact. Its claws and beak leave gouges in Eddie’s face.

Eddie also shouts, “FUCKING GO ALREADY!”

“OK!” Richie takes another whole step back muttering to himself, “Yippie ki yaya. . .” but as he turns around Bill is there, hidden behind his iron mask. His hand snaps out grabbing Richie by the throat squeezing his throat to the point of potential collapse. Richie tries to kick out realizing he’s no longer standing on the ground nor can he remember Bill being so tall. Instead, he keeps a tight grip on the scalpel and stabs Bill’s arm with it but nothing happens other than Bill’s grip tightening around his throat.

There’s no air, there’s no nothing, his legs are swinging at nothing and he’s armed with a scalpel that doesn’t even hurt the fucking guy. Pain sparks up in his head like earlier. Courtesy of not-Will. It splinters any hope of thought to move until out of the corner of his eye he sees Eddie again and Eddie moving fast and it’s almost as if they’ve been here before and they’ve done something like this before. Some thought forms, _No Eds!_ Because the last time around, it didn’t end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> None of this turned out like I wanted to and I just want to finish it and I apologize for that, for just pushing toward the end.


	38. Chapter 38

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a fight ensues

Bill backhands Eddie knocking him straight to the ground, but it’s all Richie needs. He stabs him again with the scalpel before hitting the ground. There’s not even blood on the scalpel. Eddie struggles back to his feet and Richie tries to help him up, he’s practically off balance the whole time with blood all over his face. Looks like his nose is broken but he’s not ready to stop fighting yet. Eddie tries his best to stab Bill with the butcher knife but Bill catches his hand and tries to dig the tip of the blade into him.

“Go!” Eddie gasps.

It’s Bev who again comes to the rescue, she swings a zombie dog into Bill’s face. “I got this,” she tells Eddie. “Go get him.” And she looks back at Bill. “I’m only doing this because I love you, swear.”

Already Eddie is scrambling to his feet to catch up to Richie.

The whole time Richie is making his way towards Will as best he can. He tries to lift a hand at times to block any rocks or sticks or anything from hitting him. And when he realizes Eddie is behind him, he protects him all the same.

“WILL!” Eddie shouts. “Remember that time in that hotel where you got tacos at midnight because that was wild!”

Richie glances at Eddie who’s a few feet away from him, wobbling and a complete mess. If anything else hits him, it can’t be ok. There’s a lot of blood everywhere and for somebody who keeps getting injured, Richie’s ok at the moment.

“SEEDLING!” This gets a reaction from Will who almost fully turns to face Richie. “I called you that when we first met and I can’t even fucking remember why. Wasn’t even like I was high as balls or anything then, too. And I got shot for you and I don’t even hate you for that.”

“I sort of just met you so I don’t have a lot of stories, but I got stabbed in the face for you,” Eddie adds.

“Hear that WILL, he got stabbed for _you_.”

Only not-Will shakes his head and with the flick of his hand a fallen tree knocks them both over. One of the branches impales Eddie in the leg, he’s already lost so much blood. But when Richie comes over to him, he places the scalpel blade in Eddie’s hand taking the butcher knife from him. No words are exchanged, Richie and Eddie have this moment where they make eye contact with undecipherable expressions as Richie raises to his feet to walk across the world towards not-Will.

Behind him he can hear Bev crying out, she’s probably hurt to and he gets up on his feet looking at not-Will who’s feet are off the ground. Everything is rumbling around them and Richie stands there squinting out at hands shooting through the ground. Dirt falling off. Skeletons drag breaking fingers through the ground as they pull themself out from underneath.

“You were my friend first!” Bev shouts as she comes up helping provide some leverage to Eddie on the ground. “Yeah, I knew Rich and Eddie before you but I knew you before Rich came back into our lives. And I miss. . .! I miss us just hanging around and talking about books we like to read and movies that really changed us!”

Richie presses on, he pushes back against sticks and stones flying at him with his mind. Chasing them off as he continues making his way towards not-Will. By him a small boy bursts from the ground. The boy picks up a rock along the way and tries to make his way towards Richie but instead, Richie makes it to not-Will who makes eye contact with him. His eyes are all white, no pupil or iris to be seen. There’s more bodies that are rising up from the ground.

It wants more bodies, actual Will says somewhere. Richie hears him loud and clear in his mind like always. 

In return, Richie let’s music play loud and clear in his mind. _Walking back to you, Is the hardest thing that, I can do, That I can do for you, For you._ But the pain creeps back in, all thanks to not-Will who says something to him as his feet touch back down on the ground. His hand shoots out and he too makes an attempt to strangle Richie.

Except Richie manages to mutter a, “Harder!”

Not-Will looks confused for a second almost uttering a “Huh?”

It’s all the time Richie needs though. Butcherknife still in hand, he uses it, stabbing the blade into Will’s heart. Actual Will or not-Will. They’re the same though at the end of the day which is a huge problem. “Sorry,” Richie whispers as Will crumples into him. All the universe shaking things stopped. Skeletons spilled across the ground, unburied. The child drops dead, his body there rotting. All the animals, too. Death suffocates the area and Richie does his best to drive the knife even deeper into his chest, his hand all sticky with blood and his knees damp from the mud. He keeps holding onto Will who says nothing at all. They make eye contact though, Will’s eyes are back to normal. Richie smiles at him. “I’ll see you on the flip side, Macaroni. Promise?”

_Promise._

“Good.” Richie continues to kneel there holding onto Will, not moving from his spot, not even as Bev helped Eddie come over. The two wait beside him. Eddie collapses on the ground and Bev is covered in deep scratches. He looks at them and uses the back of his hand to wipe away some tears like they were never there. “I think. . .we’re going to need an ambulance.”

Bev nods. “I think you’re right.”

Eddie grumbles, “You know he’s right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that none of this is turning out right and not even the way I want it to but I can't seem to figure it out.


	39. Chapter 39

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A funeral.

It doesn’t feel right getting away with murder, but there’s no questions asked. 

Well, there’s all of one question asked and it’s not _what happened_ but _where’s Audra Denborough?_ She disappeared into the woods or the night or she disappeared straight into thin air. It’s not like Richie can focus on such a factor. There’s a funeral or two more on his mind.

He sits pretty much all alone at one funeral, it’s packed and all. People fill in all the other pews to say bye to Will Byers leaving him there, picking at his cuticles wondering if he’s stuck there with blood on his hands. There’s some shit scene from some Shakespeare something about not being able to get the blood off hands after murder ‘cause murder is _that_ bad.

“Is this seat empty?”

Richie comes so close to saying yes because it is technically taken just not yet. Instead, he turns to see who’s talking and of course out of all the people in the world, it’s Eddie pointing at such an empty wide space between him and the end of the pew. 

“Yeah, you can’t sit with me because your mom promised she’d make it,” replies Richie as Eddie sits down beside them, their legs touching as they take up space dead center in the pew. Richie pretends to look at a watch. “Although, she appears to be running a little late.”

“Probably because she’s dead.” Eddie doesn’t look at him but instead at an urn upfront that holds Will. “Although funerals are good for dead people.”

“I hear they’re the ones who put the _fun_ in funeral.”

Eddie turns and smirks at Richie because there’s a lot to say. None of it gets said though because also upfront stands Joyce sobbing as somebody hugs her. It looks like maybe El and Mike are visiting. Their backs face Richie and Eddie and they barely knew each other and they weren’t ever going to talk to one another after all _that_ happened.

“Is this seat taken?”

Richie and Eddie roll their eyes as they look over at Stan and Pattie. They’re there with Mike, Bev, and Ben. An entire Loser’s Club. 

“No, but. . .we’re not moving,” replies Richie.

“It’s because people might spit on him,” adds Eddie.

Richie fixes his glasses, all the color draining from his face. Any time Joyce looks at him he’s sure there’s a lot of fury there. Bet she’s sitting around or laying around wishing it was him or Eddie who ended up dead up there. To think a few days before he broke the news to Joyce like he could tell a solid truth to any human being. Him, Richie Trashmouth Tozier, who liked to be about as obnoxious as possible. Made sense seeing he is always brimming with such energy. If he didn’t have the personality to match it then life would be one consistent embarrassment. Except he told Joyce, _There was no other way_ and so she replied by asking, _How do you know?_

The worst, the absolute worst part was admitting the truth to her, _I don’t_.

The other Losers sit on both sides of Richie and Eddie. Bev sits the closest to Richie, she attempts her best smile for him. “You did the right thing,” somehow she echoes the ghost of the conversation in his head. Then again, it’s Bev and Bev knows things. Her smile is so sad but that’s also Bev, she’s full of sad smiles and memories.

Then again, they all are.

A hush falls over them because a short service is about to start, one last goodbye even though beforehand Will was all burned up and stuck into an urn. Didn’t seem right. Rather than invite a singer in to serenade Will into the afterlife, Dropkick Murphy’s _Amazing Grace_ plays. At some point when nobody wanted to be around Richie, he managed to overhear Will’s brother choosing this song. It seemed like something Will would listen to, and it wasn’t like he got the final choice in whether or not he would choose such a song for his funeral. The dead don’t speak often, which is another weird thought for a group of kids who’ve fought eldritch creatures and chased ghosts across this country.

The song ends and Joyce just asks for stories to be shared and there’s a lot. One that Mike Wheeler shares about how he, Will, and friends dressed up one Halloween to find nobody else dressed up. El shares about after her and Will moved and his support in her darkest times. Max shares a story about how she was pretty sure he was some creep when they first met. Lot’s of stories about him playing D&D then not so many in between because time gets away from us.

Eddie rests a hand on Richie’s knee and nods. Figures. Richie pulls some crumpled napkin from his pocket, green ink runs together, he tried to write out on it. The green is too bright to even read. Richie stands up at a microphone looking at the people before him. There’s only so many people that know he’s the real reason why they’re all here.

But rather than pay them attention, he looks at Will. “I think the Eels said it best, Will. You’re dead but the world keeps spinning, take a spin through the world you left, it’s getting dark a little too early. Are you missing the dearly bereft?” Richie pauses. “I had to Google that word and I don’t think I get it still something about deprived of or lacking something and we’re lacking you so I guess I hope you miss us otherwise that’d fucking suck. . .” A pause again and Richie looks at his audience because there are kids present but really, he doesn’t give a fuck about that either. “It’d fucking suck if you didn’t miss us unless the dead are only allowed positive feelings, I’d forgive you.”

Richie pauses yet again but this time around it’s more so he can attempt to make out what he tried to write out for them. But none of it makes sense. Instead, he folds it up and hides it before looking at everybody else again. 

“Um hey. . .” He offers an awkward wave. “You don’t know me but um I’m Richie, and Will and I, well, Will and I had a lot of sex together also with that guy.” He points at Eddie who groans leaning his face forward into his knees. “Get up here, Eds.”

Bev answers for him, “He says no.”

“Whatever, I’d usually make some kind of your mom joke to him and maybe one about Will but that’d be weird because his mom is sitting right here.” Richie points out Joyce. “And Eds’ mom was really ugly when she was alive she was so ugly on the outside and downright hideous on the inside.” Another big groan from Eddie. “But Joyce here is _such_ a lovely lady it’d be messed up if I joke about her, it’d be real. Will’s pretty lucky to have a great mom even with a shitty childhood. Guess that’s how he ended up with these Losers hunting after ghosts and what not then I got tied up in it. Gave up my whole career as a stand-up comic for the guy, and by _whole_ career, I’d say midlist standup comic. Pretty sure every show I did people just said I fucking sucked and that was why they were there. Wasn’t even real honest with myself then I felt I could be again with Will and had the chance to be even more honest after that but I’ll spare you the details. They’re both too personal but also too explicit. So. . .I’m gonna shut the fuck up now and leave but since we’re into ghosts. . .”

Richie looks back at Will’s ashes in the urn, he can’t see them.

“Um to finish some more of that song it goes, Why don’t we take a ride, Away up high, Through the neighborhood, Up over the billboards and the factories and smoke, I’m gonna fly on down for the last stop to this town. . .so don’t be some cunt and not come visit us, Will, I’d like to meet again before I also croak.” And with that as his grand finale, Richie drops off his napkin with other things left behind for Will. 

There’s arcade tokens, Ghostbusters merchandise, somebody left a shirt for The Clash and some other bands, D&D paraphernalia, and among them, he spots _X-Men_ #134 right in the mix of things with a big fiery phoenix in the background and Jean Grey with the words _Heroes and Hellfire_. Richie snorts at the idea of it all. A story of a girl who grows too powerful, gains too much power from some other entity, and ends up about as dead as Will. Since she’s fiction though, she gets to come back to life.

Will, not so much.

“Richie. . .” Eddie says his name in such a whisper, he almost doesn’t hear him. Richie looks up and Eddie touches his shoulder. “. . .You’re holding up the funeral.” Eddie points out Will’s brother who is politely waiting to start talking but Richie’s standing in his space thinking about comics. “I really think you should sit down, it’s pretty rude.”

All Eddie gets is a few nods from Richie as he smiles at him, managing one of the sadder smiles in the world. Eddie steers him to the pew as Will’s brother starts to talk about some stories about Will leaving Richie to Eddie. Richie stretches his feet out, pushes his glasses up the bridge of his nose, and Eddie continues to wait beside him, their legs touch and Eddie keeps a hand on his knee. While stuck there, Richie turns his sad smile to Eddie who attempts to pay attention but keeps glancing at Richie until he can’t take it anymore.

“What?” Eddie snaps, but manages to keep his voice real low.

“Nothing.” Richie shrugs. “Funny, it started with us and is going to end with us.”

Eddie studies him for a while almost asking what he meant by starting with the two of them but he can’t argue with that. Instead, Eddie smiles and somehow manages to lean closer to Richie as they wait out the end of one world to start another one, again. But by this point, they’re used to beginning new worlds and new lives as well as ending entire worlds and lives.


	40. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We're in Hawkins now.

# Epilogue

**1 Month Later**

Eddie can’t dig his fingers deep enough in his jean pockets, probably because they’re too tight. Off to the side, the van is still running and Stan is close to honking the horn at them again. He breaks the silence between him and Richie as he watches Richie carve initials in yet another bridge. Some weird-ass obsession that started some point on the road when Will’s ghost decided to not meet them again.

“You know that just says Rew. R plus E plus W sounds like rue which sounds pretty bad.”

Richie looks over his shoulder glaring at Eddie, “Shut up, I’m trying to heal here.”

“Well, you fucking suck at it. Sounds like you rue the day you dated both me and Will.” Eddie shrugs. “Like _wow_ we weren’t even that bad, if there was a weak link it was you.”

Richie gets up tucking his pocket knife into his back pocket. “You’re the worst.”

“I think I just made it clear that you’re the worst, it’s what I meant by weakest link.”

The van door pops open, thanks to Bev as she sits there with Dart 2.0 hanging out on her lap even though he looks more monster than corgi. Richie nudges Eddie along to the van. “I feel like I gotta punish you later or something,” retorts Richie.

“Punish me? How? Honest, you should just shut up and learn a few things from me.” 

Both Richie and Eddie buckle up in the van and Bev slams the door shut. She rolls her eyes and looks at them. “Do you ever shut up?”

“No,” both Richie and Eddie reply in unison.

Up front in the passenger seat sits Mike as he digs through some articles he printed out from the library. He looks at everybody in the back of the van, which is of course, Richie, Eddie, Bev, Ben, and Patty. Mike is smiling real big. “I have a good feeling about this one.”

“How so?”

Mike shrugs. He holds up the mess of articles he has like everybody can casually read them. “So if any of these conspiracies are to be believed, this abandoned laboratory was used back in the 80’s by the Department of Energy who apparently did more than atomic nonsense. Instead, it was probably at this lab where they were testing on children they kidnapped and somehow opened a portal.”

At portal, Dart 2.0 perks up like somebody said his name and Richie scratches what would be his under chin if he were a normal dog.

“Some people have complained about seeing some kid riding through the woods on a bike and some other strange sightings and according to any forum online, Hawkins has had a fair share of strangeness so seems like something to check out.”

“What does this have to do with Will though?” Figures it’s Ben who asks the question, he’s both great at listening and not, all at the same time. The not part is when he is too busy admiring Bev.

Richie looks out at some of the trees they’re passing by on the way to the lab. He’s ignoring the rusty fence that is digging into the ground rather than the sky. “Will went missing around here because of the place and then a lot of other things happened here.” He shrugs. “Seems a better starting point than anything else, we tried.”

Their van comes to a stop outside the fallen fence. Up ahead the laboratory is crumbling into the ground. It looks like old blood stains the ground, that or rust from all those broken fences. Plenty of trees disintegrate around the lab. Nobody’s been there for some time. Dust even stirs on the wind, it whips up from the broken building towards the sky. 

Bev drags the van door open and Dart 2.0 leaps out and sprints inside the building without them. More dust flies up on a gust of wind.

“DART!” Bev shouts after him except the only response she gets is shattering glass.

Both Richie and Eddie stand out beside her as the rest of the Losers join her looking at all that rust trying to crawl back into the ground as if it never existed there. Doesn’t seem like the usual ghost bound sight. Stories of kids on bikes doesn’t sound all too promising either, but it’s a good start. A good start was obviously better than a bad start.

“Ready?” Mike asks Richie, but he question is also posed to Eddie seeing how the two are always together anyway.

“Sure, I mean, I hate the idea of going in there. I hope everybody has their tetanus shots because we’re gonna need them,” replies Eddie.

There’s no response from Richie though, which is most likely a positive. When someone with the nickname like “Trashmouth” is sure being quiet, there’s a strong chance you’re fucking right. It doesn’t take an expert to know shit is about to get real as Richie smiles at Mike, he gives Eddie a little nudge, doesn’t crack a joke about measuring dicks, and takes the lead that time around in their attempt to find Will somewhere lost in some past memory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Anyway, thanks to everybody and anybody who is still reading this especially if you liked it because I'm sorry, I'm so sorry because I really failed this project and anybody reading it. A lot of weird shit came up from when I started to now with a lot of other ideas, too.
> 
> BUT! This is the first fic I ever wrote and am just glad I finished it so cheers and stay safe out there, folks.


End file.
